Operation Tie - VRT Fraud

McSpud

More bad PR for the Motor Trade. Is this the VRT clampdown SIMI are looking for?

Click Click

Revenue official and dealers held over alleged VRT fraud
PATRICK LOGUE

A number of car dealers and a Revenue Commissioners official have been arrested as part of a Garda investigation into alleged tax fraud.

The four men aged between their mid 30s and mid 50s were arrested as part of a joint Garda/Revenue Operation, Operation Tie. They are due before a sitting of Tallaght District Court this morning.

It is understood the investigation centres on an alleged fraud involving vehicle registration tax (VRT) on cars.

Operation Tie was co-ordinated by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), National Support Services and the Dublin Metropolitan Regional Traffic Department.

The investigation started in 2007 and involves investigations into “criminal activity, primarily revenue irregularities and profits from criminal activity”, a Garda spokesman said.

A Revenue spokesman said: "We can confirm that an officer has been suspended".

In December 2007, CAB officers seized cars, documentation and a gun in a series of raids on businesses and homes in Dublin. While searches took place throughout the city, the bulk were concentrated on locations in the Dublin 12 / Naas Road area.

Solicitors' and accountants' offices were among those searched in the 2007 raids. A 9mm handgun was discovered in a warehouse close to one of the raided garages. Some 40 cars were taken control of, including Mercedes, Bentley, BMW and Range Rover models.

Anan1

I wonder is this one of the cars involved: http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=1361278

McSpud

I think this was in the news last month

I would guess this involved importing cars but setting lower spec in the registration book so that lower VRT is paid. To make that worthwhile need to use high value cars. Seems like they had inside man in the VRO.

Big Nasty

Anan1 wrote: »

I wonder is this one of the cars involved: http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=1361278

Is this chap bloody stupid advertising that to the whole world!?! :eek:

furtzy

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Is this chap bloody stupid advertising that to the whole world!?! :eek:

Seems to come up as 3.0 on cartell

Registration 95G8054
Make BMW
Model 330
Description CI E46 02DR
Fuel Type PETROL

Guy:Incognito

furtzy wrote: »

Seems to come up as 3.0 on cartell

Registration 95G8054
Make BMW
Model 330
Description CI E46 02DR
Fuel Type PETROL

But it's still an M3:D

furtzy

Stekelly wrote: »

But it's still an M3:D

yeah but he claims its down as a 1.8 on the log book...doesn't look like it

Fey!

furtzy wrote: »

Seems to come up as 3.0 on cartell

Registration 95G8054
Make BMW
Model 330
Description CI E46 02DR
Fuel Type PETROL

Interesting that it comes up as an e46, when the model designation for that car is e36 (the e46 didn't come out until 1999, and IIRC the 2 door e46 was launched in 2000).

Drummerboy08

I've gathered from a few guys i've spoken to in the trade today, that these garages are not the "Franchised, Main dealer" types, but the "shady, operate out of a portakabin" type. As far as i've heard, alot of these were in the Ballymount area.

No prizes for guessing who it was then.:rolleyes:

Furp

Looks like the dealers involved have been named.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0326/car.html

Car dealers arrested over VRT fraud
Thursday, 26 March 2009 16:35

Three car dealers and a tax official have appeared in court in Dublin charged with VRT fraud on cars.

The four men were arrested and charged this morning by officers from the Criminal Assets Bureau following a two-year investigation.

Lee Cullen, Richard Mockler and John Dunne are all car dealers in Dublin, while Gerard Blaney worked as a senior tax official in Revenue offices in Tallaght.
Advertisement

Lee Cullen of Exclusive Cars in Saggart faces 21 VRT fraud charges relating to a loss of €151,284 to Revenue.

John Dunne of Tony Boland Car Sales on the Naas Road faces ten charges amounting to a total loss of €48,950.

Richard Mockler of The New Road Motor Company in Clondalkin is charged with six offences, which relate to a revenue loss of €24,443.

Gerard Blaney faces 27 similar VRT fraud charges and one charge of corruption.

All charges relate to a total of €222,675 loss to Revenue.

All four were released on bail and due to appear in court again on 7 May.

Seth Brundle

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Is this chap bloody stupid advertising that to the whole world!?! :eek:

WHy?
Its not like he is lying and I doubt that he is breaking any law!
If the engine size of the car was incorrectly registered, is there an onus on the owner to rectify it? (Maybe there is, I don't know).

McSpud

Furp wrote: »

Looks like the dealers involved have been named.

Seems to be relatively small sums of money involved in each offence.

Irish Times

The court was told that the charges related to vehicle registration offences, tax evasion and fraud, with an additional charge of corruption for one of the men who had worked with the Revenue Commissioners.

Gerard Blaney (54) with an address at Mckee Avenue, Finglas, Dublin 11, will answer 27 charges relating to VRT fraud, and one charge of corruption.

Officers from the Criminal Assets Bureau told the court they believed Mr Blaney, who worked as a Revenue official, accepted corrupt payments to carry out the processing of vehicles. The exact amount was not known, but the court heard it was believed to be between €1,000 and €1,500 in total.

Executive cars have some history with VRT disputes. Click

THE HIGH Court has reserved judgment on a challenge by a car dealer to a Revenue Commissioners seizure of four racing cars from his premises during a raid as part of an operation by the Criminal Assets Bureau.

Lee Cullen, owner of Exclusive Cars, Saggart, Dublin, is in dispute with the Revenue over whether the cars are exempt from normal taxes on grounds that they are “special purpose vehicles”.

He claims a Revenue demand of €124,000, for VAT, vehicle registration tax and penalties, is wrongly imposed and in breach of his constitutional rights of the European Convention on Human Rights. He also claims the vehicles should be returned to him.

Always seems a bit desperate when try the Human Rights defence.

Tipsy Mac

McSpud wrote: »

Seems to be relatively small sums of money involved in each offence.

Yes the corrupt payments are smalled but the actual fraud of VRT not payed would have run in to a couple of hundred thousand at a minimum. I find it impossible to believe that someone working in a government job would risk his career for €1500 when there was so much money to be made by the dealers on the other side.

I'd imagine having a condition that an Irish citizen cannot drive a vehicle registered from another EU state on Irish soil, even temporarily, would hold up as a breach of his human rights.

rogue.goofball

It seems some of these guys have had trouble with CAB before:

http://www.tribune.ie/archive/article/2008/jan/27/dodgy-dealing/

http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/1212/cab.html

Nice lot of fella's I'm sure. Don't think I'd want to have one of their cars, or if was unfortunate enough to buy one need to go back with it looking for a refund!

The sum's do seem small, but I don't think that is an excuse - I'm sure this is all that CAB can definitely account for, and it must represent a small fraction of what they are at.

As and aside, I'm really looking forward to what happens the bankers of this country... it seems they have been involved in multi-million tax scams, laundering and the like!
Won't hold my breath until I see any of them appear in court though.