The 66-year-old Muhammad Tanwir Khan of Heaton Moor in Stockport, fled to Pakistan, after conned the taxman out of £800,000 in a VAT fraud was arrested after returning to the UK last year.
He went on the run in May after he was found guilty of the scam, which saw him submit more than 350 fake invoices to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for exports to Pakistan that had never happened.
His original three and a half year jail sentence was confirmed at Manchester’s Nightingale Crown Court, and six months were also added on for absconding.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said Khan had submitted more than 350 false invoices linked to fictitious exports to Pakistan.
He featured on their ’20 most wanted’
Eden Noblett, assistant director of HMRC’s fraud investigation service, said: “Khan stole more than £800,000 of taxpayers’ money and thought he could escape punishment but now he must serve his sentence.”
HMRC said Khan, of Bluestone Drive, submitted false invoices between 2006 and 2011 and investigators discovered more than 1,700 suspect documents on his computer.
During his trial, the court was shown hundreds of invoices – sometimes crudely amended with correction fluid – apparently for the supply of mechanical parts to clients including the Pakistani navy.
It identified “suspicious trading” by Khan’s company Spearpoint Limited, of which he was sole director.
“During interviews he couldn’t justify or prove his business claims. He had been living off stolen VAT repayments for a number of years, using faked paperwork to fraudulently reclaim on average over £100,000 per year.
HMRC said Khan has also been ordered to repay £696,749 or face another three years in prison.