Crime Boss Gets Extra Nine Years In Prison

A convicted VAT fraudster will now have to serve an extra nine years in jail for failing to repay £40 million of his criminal profits, following a confiscation order secured last month.

Emmanuel Hening, a dual French/Belgian national, still owes the money and criminal investigators from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are actively pursuing its return.

Mr Hening was jailed for 15 years in December 2006 for masterminding the £54 million “missing trader” fraud. This is the longest sentence ever handed down by a British court for this type of crime, and the confiscation order was one of the largest ever made.

The investigation by HMRC involved two separate criminal trials and the conviction of seven men and one woman who were sentenced to a total of 40 years in prison.

Richard Meadows, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation for HMRC, said: “We are determined to restore this money to the nation’s finances, in what is one of the largest confiscation orders ever gained. The additional nine year jail term given to Hening sends the strongest warning yet to criminals that they cannot hide, even in prison, from our actions to seek further justice. Working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service, we will continue our efforts to reclaim his criminal profits. This was organised fraud on a massive scale by criminals intent on making huge profits at the expense of the British taxpayer.”

Alun Milford, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service Organised Crime Division said: “This was a very substantial order which Hening has shown no inclination to pay. The activation of the default term shows our determination to do what we can to enforce payment.”

The confiscation follows a similar order made in February this year, which saw Hening’s partner in crime, Jaswant Raykanda, ordered to repay £3.8m and a third defendant Bhovinder Singh Sangha was ordered to pay £4.7m in April 2007.

(BMcN/GK)