A fraudster who masterminded one of the UK's biggest tax scams will lose his £90 million property empire after a confiscation order at Chester Crown Court on Thursday. Sock manufacturer Arif Patel, 57, from Preston, Lancashire, now lives in Dubai and was convicted in his absence in 2023.
Patel led a gang that carried out carousel fraud, a complex scam where criminals create chains of fake business transactions to steal VAT repayments. The operation involved moving goods between different companies in circular patterns, creating false export and import records to claim back large sums from tax authorities.
Property empire stripped away
The confiscation order covers properties Patel owned in Preston, London and overseas locations including Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. His Ferrari 575 Superamerica will also be sold at auction as part of the £90,503,211 recovery.
The criminal operation stole millions through fraudulent VAT repayment claims on false exports of textiles and mobile phones. The gang also imported and sold counterfeit clothes that would have been worth at least £50 million if genuine.
Criminal network dismantled
Patel and his co-accused Mohamed Jaffar Ali, 61, of Dubai, were found guilty of fraud and money laundering offences after a 14-week trial. Ali faces a separate confiscation order for £677,000 as Patel's "trusted financial enabler".
The joint investigation by HM Revenue and Customs and Lancashire Police secured jail sentences totalling more than 116 years for 24 other gang members. Twenty-four people were convicted during five trials between 2011 and 2014.
Funds return to public coffers
Richard Las, director of HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service, said Patel "lived a lavish lifestyle at the expense of the law-abiding majority" but will now lose his crime-funded empire. The confiscated money will go directly to fund public services.
Patel ran the scam from Preston-based import company Faisaltex Ltd before travelling to Dubai in July 2011 and failing to return. He and Ali were sentenced in their absence to a total of 31 years in prison, though the UK's extradition treaty with Dubai is considered ineffective by legal commentators.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
