Authorities seize digital assets, in UK tax fraud case

Thomas Cattee (https://www.gherson.com/who-we-are/our-people/thomas-cattee) is head of white-collar crime at Gherson Solicitors. He previously worked for the Serious Fraud Office.

In a first for the United Kingdom, HM Revenue and Customs have confiscated cryptoassets that include non-fungible tokens for digital artwork. The case, in which three people have been arrested on suspicion of VAT repayment fraud to the value of UK£1.4 million, involved 250 fake companies. Rather than physically appropriating the artworks, authorities obtained a court order to prevent the NFTs being sold on the online marketplace. Tax cheats and other fraudsters using cryptoassets should be warned, says Thomas Cattee of Gherson Solicitors.