MICHAEL Hunt, disgraced managing director of Nissan UK, was jailed for
eight years yesterday for his part in Britain's biggest tax fraud.
The 59-year-old multi-millionaire, who helped to milk his company of
nearly #140m and to cheat the Inland Revenue of just over #55m, appeared
taken aback as he heard the price he had to pay for his greed.
His wife Shirley and daughter Wanda, sitting in a packed public
gallery at Southwark Crown Court, burst into tears. His son Chester held
his head in his hands.
Mr Justice Gatehouse told Hunt, found guilty of a nine-year-long
corporation tax conspiracy, that ''on any view'' his offence was in a
''category entirely of its own''.
''You realise that this is an offence which is so serious that only a
custodial sentence is appropriate. An immediate custodial sentence which
is bound to be a long one.
''Accepting, as I think I must do, that you came to a conspiracy of
cheating the revenue that was already up and running, the fact is that
you continued to assist that conspiracy for the best part of nine
years,'' said the Judge.
Hunt, of Hove, east Sussex, was second-in-command at the former
importers and distributors of Britain's best-selling foreign-made car.
The Judge also banned him from serving as a director or liquidator of
any company under the Directors' Disqualification Act of 1986.
In addition, he must pay trial costs totalling #513,512.
Jailed with him was Frank Shannon, 60, former financial director and
company secretary of the highly successful company, based in Worthing,
west Sussex.
Imposing a three-year prison sentence, 10-year director's
disqualification, and #131,410 costs order, the Judge told the chartered
accountant, from Brighton, that he was giving him credit for his guilty
plea and the co-operation he gave the tax authorities in their
investigations.
The Judge said: ''I have no doubt that you are extremely remorseful.
There is no doubt that in fact your plea did have an effect on the trial
of your co-defendant.''
He added: ''You have shown bravery in accepting your guilt in this
matter and it cannot have been easy to face your family and friends.''
During the trial -- estimated to have cost #2.2m -- Peter Rook,
prosecuting, said Hunt had been part of a team of ''sophisticated
fraudsters''.
He said they included Octav Botnar, Nissan UK's former chairman and
''prime mover'' in the swindle, two Swiss bankers, and other
businessmen.
Botnar, 80 -- who suffers from arterial disease and is convalescing in
Switzerland after surgery for reported stomach cancer -- is expected to
remain too unwell to stand trial in Britain.
Mr Rook said the men carried out a ''truly massive'' fraud.
''Double layers'' of bogus invoices and ''sham'' shipping agents were
used to inflate the costs of shipping Nissan vehicles from Japan by as
much as 50%, to conceal an extra profit averaging #115 on each car and
van, he added.
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