A Romford accountant made £160,000 fraudulent VAT repayment claims from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Aloke Kundu - a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) who lives in Romford - plead guilty to VAT fraud at Snaresbrook Crown Court on January 14.

An investigation by HMRC uncovered the 45-year-old had created bogus paperwork for three companies owned by his relatives to carry out the fraud.

Kundu, of Straight Road, was an accountant for the businesses.

He used his Tax Giant Ltd accountancy practice to submit 12 fraudulent tax repayment claims from August 2016 to October 2017.

He dishonestly reclaimed £96,000, HMRC said, and attempted to claim a further £64,000, but that was withheld by the authority.

HMRC’s fraud investigation service assistant director, Steve Doyle, said: "This was a calculated and deliberate attempt to steal from the UK taxpayer.

“Tax fraud is not a victimless crime, it’s stealing from the public purse, which funds vital public services like the NHS.

“The majority of individuals and businesses pay the tax that is due – however, there remains a determined minority who refuse to play by the rules.”

Kundu has been bailed to his home address pending a pre-sentencing report.