The UK official tax enforcement agency, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), confiscated three NFT tokens in relation to a possible multi-million dollar fraud, related to tax evasion.
According to the BBC, this is the first official NFT seizure in the history of the UK. Moreover, that makes the HMRC the first government authority in the UK to conduct an anti-tax evasion operation with NFT technology as the questionable commodity.
Additionally, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs agency also apprehended three individuals in relation to the tax evasion fraud. And as per the word of BBC, the perpetrators used rather innovative and creative means in order to successfully evade paying their taxes.
Furthermore, the HMRC reveals that the suspects managed to ‘launder’ a whopping $1.8 million/£1.4 million, including taxes. To pull this off, the suspects registered 250 fraudulent offshore shell companies, while in the meantime persistently relying on fake identities to claim the profits.
Consequently, the HMRC obtained enough proof in order to get a search and seizure from the court. This resulted in Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs confiscating digital assets that are worth £5.000/$6.765, as well as the three questionable non-fungible tokens.
While the suspicious digital assets are currently in the hands of the HMRC, it is fair to mention that the NFTs were not part of any criminal activity whatsoever. However, considering the protocol of pretty much all government agencies, the HMRC seized the NFTs as assets.
The deputy director at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, Nick Sharp, states that the latest NFT seizure should only serve as a warning for everyone who has plans to evade paying tax in a similar manner. Especially since the government is relying on the latest technological features in order to track all ‘concealed assets’.
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