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UK Tax Regulator Seizes NFTs for First Time as Part of Fraud Investigation

Three people have been arrested for allegedly attempting to defraud HMRC of $1.8 million.

Updated May 11, 2023, 7:12 p.m. Published Feb 14, 2022, 4:14 p.m.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the U.K.’s tax and law enforcement agency, has seized non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and made three arrests as part of a fraud investigation.

Three NFTs have been seized during an investigation into a suspected organized, value-added tax repayment fraud involving 250 alleged fake companies, the HMRC said Monday.
Three people have been arrested for allegedly attempting to defraud HMRC of $1.8 million using “sophisticated methods.”
The suspects hid their identities using stolen identities, false addresses, prepaid unregistered mobile phones, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and false invoices, according to the HMRC.
HMRC said it is the first law enforcement agency to seize NFTs and warned the public that the arrests are an example and warning to anyone who thinks they can use crypto assets to hide money.
“We constantly adapt to new technology to ensure we keep pace with how criminals and evaders look to conceal their assets,” said Nick Sharp, HMRC’s deputy director economic crime, in a press release.

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Fraud Tax Evasion UK NFTs

Tanzeel Akhtar

Tanzeel Akhtar has contributed to The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Forbes Africa, Financial Times, The Street, Citywire, Investing.com, Euromoney, Yahoo! Finance, Benzinga, Kitco News, African Business Magazine, Hedge Week, Campden Family Office, Modern Investor, Spear's Wealth Management Magazine, Global Investor, ETF.com, ETF Stream, CIO UK, Funds Global Asia, Portfolio Institutional, Interactive Investor, Bitcoin Magazine, CryptoNews.com, Bitcoin.com, The Local, The Next Web, Mining Journal, Money Marketing, Marketing Week and more. Tanzeel trained as a foreign correspondent at the University of Helsinki, Finland and newspaper journalist at the University of Central Lancashire, UK. She holds a BA (Honours) in English Literature from the Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and completed a semester abroad as an ERASMUS student at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. She is NCTJ Qualified - Media Law, Public Administration and passed the Shorthand 100WPM with distinction. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.