A Bromley fraudster who bought and sold over 50 properties without paying £1 million in tax has been jailed for more than four years.

Madhu Bhajanehatti, 45, from Keston, and Himat Chana, 59, of Ilford, sold dozens of properties over an eight-year period, evading £991,000 in Capital Gains Tax.

Although the men disclosed some income on their Self-Assessment tax returns, they deliberately hid the sales of properties across London and Essex, a HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigation revealed

Richard Wilkinson, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “The duo believed they were above the law and showed a blatant disregard to their obligations by failing to declare substantial income from property sales.

“It is simply unacceptable to steal from UK taxpayers. HMRC continues to pursue those who attempt to hide their income and ensure everyone pays what they owe when they owe it.

"I urge anyone with information about any type of tax fraud to report it online or contact the HMRC fraud hotline on 0800 788 887.”

HMRC officers discovered the men had built up their property portfolios by using the proceeds of previous sales.

Both men were sentenced to a combined total of eight years and six months in jail at the same court. Bhajanehatti, who evaded £650,000 in tax, was given 50 months, while Chana, who evaded £341,000 was given 52.

Bhajanehatti admitted the fraud during a hearing at Southwark Crown Court in June 2019, and was ordered to pay back £190,086.42. He has less than three months to pay it back or he faces a further two years and six months in jail.

If further assets are identified in the future for Bhajanehatti, they could also be confiscated.

Chana was convicted after trial in August 2019; confiscation proceedings are on-going.