Lamborghini racer jailed for £450,000 tax fraud

Simon Atkinson, Lamborghini racing driver and Hemel Hempstead-based company director, has been sent to jail this week for tax fraud.

The 54-year-old director of halal poultry processing company IHP Ltd, who competed in the 2011 British GT Championship driving a Lamborghini Gallardo, once frequented Spa Francorchamps, Brands Hatch the Algarve circuits in racing cars.

Now, he’s going away for three years and four months having been found guilty of six-figure tax fraud – money that he used to fund his motorsport exploits.

Officers unearthed the incriminating evidence while investigating his company, given a lack of compliance with anti-money laundering regulations. Records indicated that he had falsified invoices and put personal racing costs through business channels.

The invoices covered a period of four years, between 2011 and 2015 and were titled ‘transportation’, ‘engineering services’ and more. These were, in fact, cover-ups for car servicing.

Atkinson also wasn’t exactly subtle. He put through the purchase of a Lamborghini racing car as a machinery business cost.

The grand total of his transgressions? He received back from the government, as a result of his false paper trail, over £112,000 in repaid VAT. What’s more, he avoided nearly £340,000 in income tax.

For his crimes, he’s getting the time stated and has been ordered to pay back the above amount, along with legal costs and a £30,000 compensation order. IHP paid £20,000 in fines and £1,000 in costs.

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