MICHELLE Mone’s husband Doug Barrowman has been seen arriving at court in Spain as he faces corporate tax charges.
The businessman, 58, faces up to five and a half years in jail after being accused of a role in a multi-million tax evasion scam.
SolarpixDoug Barrowman arrives at court in Spain[/caption]
SolarpixHis five-day trial began today over an alleged tax evasion scheme[/caption]
GettyThe businessman is married to Michelle Mone[/caption]
Barrowman, who has been married to Baroness Mone since 2020, looked glum as he arrived at court in the city of Santander today for the start of his trial five-day trial.
Prosecutors claim the Scottish billionaire and six other British businessmen benefitted from an allegedly fraudulent £5million invoice.
It is alleged it was created to evade tax and allow them to pocket millions from Spanish company B3 Cable Solutions via a UK company Axis Ventura in 2008.
B3 Cable Solutions later went bust in 2012, resulting in 200 job losses.
Barrowman was the founder of Axis, but left the role four months before the payment was made.
But according to court documents, Barrowman admitted he was “one of the negotiators” of the deal, reports The Mirror.
Papers are said to say Barrowman – who was also a shareholder in B3 – conceded he had received benefits of the commissions paid to Axis.
Prosecutors claim the invoice was created to “hide a partner payment” and “defraud the Spanish Treasury”. out more than half a million euros.
According to court documents, £5million (6.3million euros) was declared as donations, and £1.3million (1.6million euros) was a corporation tax deducation.
All seven businessmen were previously cleared in the civil court of any administrative wrongdoing.
But Spanish prosecutors are now looking to jail the tycoons – who all deny charges – over the alleged plot.
It comes as Barrowman’s racehorse – the favourite in the Grand National – could be blocked from running.
Monbeg Genius, which Mone bought as an £80,000 wedding gift for Barrowman – is the current 14-1 co-favourite with some bookies for the Aintree blockbuster on April 13.
But the horse could be stopped from running as bosses at the British Horseracing Authority are investigating whether the horse falls under the list of assets, reports The Guardian.
Victory in the world’s most famous race is worth a whopping £500,000.
Mone and her husband had £75m of assets frozen or restrained by a court order last month.
The couple face a National Crime Agency investigation into alleged fraud, with assets seized including a six-bedroom London townhouse, Isle of Man country estate and 15 bank accounts.
The CPS applied for the order on the Tory peer and Barrowman under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The bra tycoon has admitted that she stood to benefit by about £60m from profits on personal protective equipment sold to the Government during Covid by a firm led by him.
Assets can be held for potential confiscation in case of a conviction.
The allegations include conspiracy to defraud and bribery, which they deny.
SolarpixBarrowman, pictured arriving at court, faces more than five years behind bars[/caption]
GettyBaroness Mone and Barrowman pictured in 2019[/caption]
Leave a comment
