Mohammed Daar, 36, described as ‘leading player’ in sophisticated fraud involving false mileage expense claims over three years
A tax officer who fraudulently pocketed more than £200,000 to help settle his wedding debt has been sentenced to prison. Mohammed Daar, 36, was labelled as “the leading player” in a complex fraud that involved tampering with taxpayers’ personal records, which he then exploited to submit false business mileage expense claims, a court heard.
Money from these claims were transferred to numerous bank accounts either controlled by Daar or others under his influence. Daar received a three-year prison sentence for fraud and money laundering offences.
Bradford Crown Court heard that Daar, of Princeville Street, Listerhills, Bradford, had gambling and drugs habits, and was burdened with debt from his wedding. Barrister Stephen Grattage, prosecuting, explained to the court how Daar joined His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs ( HMRC ) in 2016.
He was based in Bradford as a customer service consultant/administration officer within the personal tax operations department. Upon joining, like other HMRC officers, he was assigned a unique PID number, enabling his activity within internal HMRC systems to be monitored.
Daar was tasked with processing business mileage expense claims and issuing repayments linked to those claims. His role not only granted him access to confidential taxpayer information but also enabled him to fabricate false repayment claims, reports the Mirror.
Between October 21, 2019, and August 19, 2022, Daar illicitly accessed HMRC systems, tampering with 101 individual tax records unbeknown to the individuals involved. He then exploited these altered records to lodge false mileage claims, directing the repayments into 66 chosen bank accounts.
The fraudulent refunds amounted to a whopping £211,715.21. Mr Grattage explained: “To make the fraud work, Mohammed Daar needed access to bank accounts, which were able to receive the proceeds of his criminal conduct.
“To do so, he entered into money laundering arrangements with both Moosa Hajat and Arslan Ahmed. The prosecution say he did so to offer distance between his activities within HMRC and the proceeds of his criminal conduct.”
The court was informed that Hajat received five bogus repayments totalling £9,895.67, while Ahmed pocketed three, adding up to £6,012.13. It was made clear that neither Hajat nor Ahmed had any legitimate grounds to receive these payments.
After depositing the money, described as “the fruits of a money laundering arrangement”, into their accounts, Daar would then transfer it back to himself, deducting a small fee for both men. Daar’s fraudulent scheme was exposed in August 2022 when HMRC received an enquiry about a mileage claim refund that had never been lodged.
The fraudulent submission was traced back to Daar through his PID number, leading to a broader investigation that exposed his criminal activities. Upon arrest and questioning, Daar declined to comment. When the illicit funds were tracked, both Hajat and Ahmed did the same.
Daar later admitted to fraud by abuse of position, unauthorised computer access, and along with Hajat and Ahmed, money laundering. Mr Grattage characterised Daar as “the leading player” in each money laundering scheme, highlighting the planned and sophisticated criminality sustained over time.
In mitigation, the court was told that Daar had shown genuine remorse and shame for his actions. Sentencing Daar, His Honour Judge Roger Thomas KC said: “This was a scam that you could use to your benefit. What you did over that long period of time was to abuse your position of trust. [There were] 66 accounts used by you to get the money from the HMRC back to you. The two men in the dock with you represent two of those examples. There is no alternative to immediate custody.”
Moosa Hajat, 30, of Arncliffe Terrace, Bradford, and Arslan Ahmed, 32, of Shay Grove, Bradford, were each given 12-month community orders and instructed to complete 180 hours of unpaid work. A Proceeds of Crime hearing is scheduled for May 21 next year.
Following the sentencing, Ben Rollins, Head of Anti-Corruption and Internal Investigations at HMRC, commented: “This was an appalling breach of trust by Mohammed Daar. He abused his position to commit fraud for his own gain. We are absolutely committed to the highest level of integrity and will track down the tiny minority who let us all down by falling short of those standards.”
