A VAT fraudster who was ordered to repay £14 million that he cheated from taxpayers has had his debt written off after striking a deal with prosecutors, the Standard can reveal.
Londoner Nasir Khan was jailed in 2011 for his part in a £250 million scam. A court heard it involved “money which should have paid for hospitals or schools” being “diverted into the pockets of a group of dishonest people”.
Khan, the former partner of Holby City and Footballers’ Wives star Laila Rouass, used his share of the profits to buy luxury properties in Chelsea, Putney, Gibraltar and Spain. He also bought a yacht and cars including a Ferrari, a Lamborghini and a Bentley as he enjoyed what HM Revenue and Customs called “the lifestyle of an international playboy”.
After Khan, 44, was given a £14 million confiscation order by a judge at Southwark crown court, tax officials vowed to recover “as much as possible for the UK taxpayer”.
But the Crown Prosecution Service has agreed to let him off the sum on the grounds that he is too poor to repay a single penny.
