A moustacheod GP with a passing resemblance to TV detective Hercule Poirot has found himself on the wrong side of the law after being prosecuted for tax evasion.
Khaled Yasin, 64, from Windmill Road in Ealing, was investigated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and found to have under-declared his earnings by £700,000.
He had been paid £1.3million for his work as a Forensic Medical Examiner for the Metropolitan Police Service over an 11 year period, but had only paid tax on £655,955 of that money, which meant he avoided a £300,000 tax bill. He also owes £50,000 in interest.
Yasin was found guilty of eight charges of Cheating the Public Revenue contrary to Common Law. And at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday (November 14) he was sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete a 200 hour community punishment order.
HMRC's assistant director for criminal investigations, David Margree, said the evasion was discovered as part of a campaign to tackle undeclared tax and income from doctors and dentists.
He added: "Yasin thought he could get away with the fraud because he had declared some of his earnings – he was wrong. This was a serious breach of Yasin’s professional standards. Had he come forward in 2010, and used the voluntary disclosure campaign to put his financial affairs in order, he could have avoided a criminal record and serious damage to his reputation."
The court heard that the fraud took place between April 2002 and April 2011. During this time Yasin also worked as a GP for a health centre in Brentford, Hounslow.
In 2010, HMRC launched a campaign encouraging doctors and other medical professionals to declare their unpaid tax under more favourable terms. Those affected had until June 2010 to come forward. To date the campaign has raised total revenue of over £64m.
