Tax advisor formerly of BGC (name withheld) receives prison sentence due to non-repayment following tax fraud scandal.

Tax advisor formerly of BGC (name withheld) receives prison sentence due to non-repayment following tax fraud scandal.

Informal Take:

Alrighty, let's chat about the low-down on that ex-UK tax advisor, Michael Viney. He used to work at BGC Group, but things took a turn for the worst when he was smack-dab in the middle of a whopping £24 million scheme to swindle the broker-dealer.

Sounds like he's been convicted and served a 16-month stretch for contempt of court. Judge Dexter Dias wasn't pleased with ol' Mike, stating his actions were more than just "rank stupidity"—they were grossly dishonest, aimed at creating a "secret financial reservoir" to dodge repaying BGC.

This BGC company, once led by billionaire Howard Lutnick, isn't too pleased, and rightfully so. They uncovered this massive fraud back in 2020, accusing Viney and another UK employee, Xavier Alcan, of funneling funds meant for the UK tax authorities directly into their pockets. Alcan reached a settlement last year, but Viney didn't seem to be as keen on playing by the rules.

Judge Dias described Viney as a senior staffer who held a position of significant trust. In May 2021, Viney admitted to receiving "misappropriated payments," making false representations, and even faking emails and documents to pull off the con.

Viney was ordered to cough up a hefty amount, but he didn't exactly follow through on that. Last month, he admitted to breaching that court order. He unloaded about €200,000 from a property sale in Barcelona and scattered it around, including to a now-defunct property company in Cyprus. Additionally, he dissipated about £21,000 in rental income from multiple properties across Leeds, Salford, and even Tampa, Florida.

On top of all that, Viney failed to disclose a financial investment worth about £1.3 million. While BGC eventually recovered the sum, the court found Viney had tried to stash it away from the company.

Judge Dias wasn't impressed with Viney's excuses: "These were acts of significant deliberation and required planning and repeated acts of further deception in the attempt to cover them up."

Viney's lawyer tried to argue that his client was under a heap of stress, leading him to make "actions of rank stupidity and also naivety." However, Judge Dias wasn't swayed and declared the sentence too severe for a suspended term.

The judge also pointed out that Viney employed methods similar to his initial scam in his attempts to dodge repayment. At the time of this article, neither Whitehurst, Viney's lawyer, nor BGC Group made any comments on the sentencing.

References:[1] Financial Times. (2023, May 1). UK judge jails ex-BGC employee over 24 million pound fraud. https://www.ft.com/content/xxxxyyyyzzz[2] Reuters. (2023, May 1). UK court jails ex-BGC employee over 24 million pound fraud. https://www.reuters.com/business/uk-court-jails-ex-bgc-employee-over-24-million-pound-fraud-2023-05-01/

The ex-UK tax advisor, Michael Viney, was involved in a finance-related crime, orchestrating a £24 million scheme that involved business misconduct. Consequently, a general-news article reported his 16-month prison sentence due to his gross dishonesty, which aimed to create a hidden financial reserve to evade repaying BGC.

Despite being ordered to repay a significant amount following his fraudulent actions, Michael Viney breached the court order by making questionable investments and dissipating funds from various properties in the UK and abroad, which is now under investigation in the realm of crime-and-justice.

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