Man jailed for £1m tax fraud

Glennon was first investigated by police in 1997

A businessman in Liverpool has been jailed for six-and-a-half years for tax evasion after a ten-year investigation.

At Preston Crown Court Philip Glennon admitted evading more than £1m of tax in a fraud operation which involved burying money in his garden.

Glennon, 66, of Hawthorne Grove, West Derby, pleaded guilty to 25 charges involving tax evasion, money laundering and false accounting.

Drugs charges against him were dropped at an earlier hearing.

As well as the jail term, the judge also ordered that more than £3m of his assets be seized.

The court heard Glennon had laundered money to hide the extent of his wealth - and had almost £1m buried in his garden.

Robert Jarvis was also jailed

He was trapped by the National Crime Squad (NCS)who mounted a detailed investigation over a ten-year period.

Andrew Mitchell QC, prosecuting, said he had "utilised almost every weapon in the money launderer's armoury".

This included offshore bank accounts, offshore companies, false names and even the hole in the garden as a cash safety deposit.

He said Glennon went to extraordinary lengths to hide a decade of undeclared, untaxed accumulated riches.

His dishonest returns showed a "complete contempt" for the UK tax system, Mr Mitchell said.

He added that at a conservative estimate, his received income was more than £3m - but he only declared £34,500.

'Ogre' concern

The court heard Merseyside Police searched his home in September 1997 where packets of money amounting to £960,000 were found in the garden.

His counsel Timothy King QC claimed Glennon had not lived a life of crime, apart from tax evasion, and said there was a danger of creating an "ogre" out of him.

Appearing in court alongside Glennon, Robert Jarvis, 38, of Sandfield Park, Liverpool, also admitted four charges involving tax evasion, money laundering and false passports.

Jarvis was jailed for four-and-a-half years and ordered to hand over almost £500,000.

In sentencing Glennon, Judge Peter Openshawe QC said: "It is important not to underestimate the seriousness of tax evasion which adversely impacts upon the vast majority of ordinary citizens who honestly pay what is due for them.

"These offences are prevalent and sentences must deter others."