HMRC and Financial Crime

About HMRC and Financial Crime

Financial crime encompasses a range of offences involving the dishonest acquisition or movement of money, the evasion of tax obligations, and the laundering of criminal proceeds. HMRC has extensive investigatory powers and can pursue criminal prosecution for tax evasion under the Criminal Finances Act 2017 and the Fraud Act 2006. Money laundering offences — covering the concealment, arrangement, acquisition, use, or possession of criminal property — are prosecuted under Sections 327 to 329 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Fraud, including fraud by false representation and fraud by abuse of position, is prosecuted under the Fraud Act 2006.

The sentences for financial crime are severe and reflect the significant sums typically involved. Money laundering carries a maximum of fourteen years' imprisonment. Tax evasion prosecuted under the Fraud Act carries up to ten years. Fraud offences carry up to ten years on indictment. In addition to custodial sentences, the courts have extensive powers to make confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act, which can strip defendants of assets far beyond the value of the offence itself. Regulatory consequences — including being barred from directorships, struck off professional registers, and having accounts frozen — can be equally devastating.

Financial crime investigations are often lengthy and complex. HMRC and the National Crime Agency typically spend months or years building a case before the suspect is even aware of the investigation. By the time you are contacted for interview, the investigators will have analysed bank records, tax returns, company accounts, and communications in detail. They will have formed a view of the case and structured their interview questions accordingly. Walking into that interview without specialist preparation is one of the most damaging things you can do.

Early professional involvement in financial crime cases is not just advisable — it can be the difference between prosecution and no further action. Understanding the disclosure obligations, challenging the methodology used by HMRC or forensic accountants, and presenting a clear explanation for financial activity that may look suspicious on paper are all areas where specialist knowledge makes a measurable difference. We work methodically through the financial evidence to build a defence that addresses the prosecution case point by point.