David Walbank KC instructed for the defence in HMRC loan charge prosecution

David Walbank KC has been briefed for the defence in Operation Skeet. The defendants, who were professional financial advisers running their own wealth management companies, have been charged with ‘Fraud by False Representation’.

The prosecution alleges that, in the course of statutory enquiries into their personal tax affairs, they supplied, through their solicitors and accountants, untrue or misleading documentation to HM Revenue and Customs, intending thereby to evade any future liability under the so-called ‘disguised remuneration loan charge’ introduced by Schedule 11 of the Finance (No 2) Act 2017.

The charges are denied and the case has been sent to the Southwark Crown Court. The trial is estimated to last 8 weeks.

David Walbank KC specialises in defending individuals charged with white collar crime. He is a regular contributor to New Law Journal in his Crime Brief column and, most recently, in a series of biographical essays entitled ‘Lives of the Great Advocates’: see link here. David is also the founder of the www.crimecast.law website, on which he presents more than 250 video reviews of recent criminal judgments: see link here