Man Jailed For £10m Scam

18 March 2011, 16:56 | Updated: 18 March 2011, 17:00

A 46 year old Bedfordshire man was jailed for four years today/Fri for his involvement in a £10m fuel duty and money laundering scam.

Brian McAtavey from Flitwick in Bedfordshire was jailed for his part in a fraud that involved laundering low duty fuels to remove the chemical marker and then selling them on as legitimate duty paid road diesel. 

The criminal profits were then put through a range of business bank accounts and cheque cashing companies in an attempt to disguise their origins.

McAtavey of Kiln Farm, Steppingley Road appeared at Chester Crown Court. He was found guilty following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court in November 2010. 

The other members of the gang; three men and a woman from Northern Ireland, Middlesex and London were sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court in February 2011 for their part in the crime.

Mike O'Grady, Assistant Director, Criminal Investigation, HMRC said:

"Fuel laundering is unregulated and dangerous but this gang was motivated solely by greed and personal gain, costing us all, as taxpayers, millions of pounds in stolen revenue. 

"Cheap, laundered fuel is no bargain.  It undercuts honest businesses and has devastating effects on the environment when the toxic by-products of the laundering process are dumped in the countryside.  HMRC works tirelessly to investigate fuel fraud; anyone with information should contact our Customs Hotline on 0800 59 5000."