Colwyn Bay sisters questioned over £160 million VAT fraud

Jan 23 2009 By Steve Stratford

TWO sisters from Colwyn Bay have been arrested by HM Revenue and Customs in connection with a suspected £160 million VAT fraud.

Early this morning HMRC officers executed a search warrant at an address in Colwyn Bay and arrested the two women on suspicion of being involved in a VAT repayment fraud. Both women are currently being interviewed.

Andrew Pavlinic, assistant director of criminal investigation for HMRC, said: "Tackling VAT fraud is a priority for HMRC. People who cheat the system make victims of us all by depriving essential services of funding. It also creates an unfair playing field for those businesses that abide by the rules. We would encourage anyone with information about any type of fraud to contact us on our 24 hour hotline number 0800 59 5000.”

Investigations are continuing.