"he has to pay up or spend even more time in prison"
Dilbagh Singh Dhillon, aged 40, of Hayes, West London, was ordered to repay over £53,000 in lost duty on Friday, February 22, 2019.
HM Revenue and Customs investigators found 46,318 litres of illegal alcohol stashed at an industrial unit in Hounslow. The haul was worth £62,347 in lost duty.
He has been ordered to repay the majority of the duty he evaded within three months. Dhillon must pay £53,937 or face a further eight months in prison.
Dhillon faces selling his 50% share of his home in order to come up with the money. He was handed the confiscation order at Southwark Crown Court.
The builder was jailed for two years and four months in the summer of 2018 for evading duty on smuggled alcohol.
Dhillon pleaded guilty to duty evasion at Southwark Crown Court and was sentenced on August 6.
Simon Kiefer, Assistant Director of the HMRC Fraud Investigation Service, said:
“Dhillon’s crimes put him behind bars and now he has to pay up or spend even more time in prison and still have to pay the money back.
“Our actions don’t stop once someone is convicted, we will look to reclaim the stolen money, cash that should be funding vital public services in the UK.
“If you know of anyone who is committing tax fraud you can report them to HMRC online, or call our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”
The alcohol was seized during a raid by HMRC investigators on September 15, 2016.
Dhillon stored the huge quantity of alcohol in an industrial unit owned by Sartaj Singh Gill, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.
Investigators discovered a diary with detailed recordings of alcohol orders and cash payments.
When questioned, Dhillon admitted owning the diary but said that someone else had made the entries. However, handwriting analysis later proved it was his writing.
Gill tried to cover for Dhillon by saying another individual was the tenant of the unit where the booze was stored.
Investigators realised he was lying and Gill eventually admitted to providing a false witness statement.
Gill admitted perverting the course of justice and was sentenced to 13 months, suspended for 12 months.
After the pair were sentenced, Mr Kiefer said: “Dhillon was stealing from the taxpayer and undercutting legitimate traders.
“Money that should have been going to vital public services was going into his pocket. Gill lied and tried to pervert the course of justice.
“They’ve now been found guilty and we can begin working on getting that money back.”
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