Tax office bags Preston fraudster's 拢70k poker win
- Published
Adam Lulat won the money in a card game in Manchester
A convicted fraudster who won 拢70,000 in a poker tournament has been ordered to pay the cash to the tax office.
Adam Lulat was jailed for 28 months in 2015 for his involvement in a 拢40m money laundering scam and VAT fraud.
He was part of a six-man gang ordered to repay 拢590,000, although Lulat only had to repay 拢1 as he had no assets.
But the 26-year-old, of Preston, has been brought back before the courts after his win and ordered to hand the total amount to HM Revenue and Customs.
Lulat had won 拢68,930 at the poker tournament in Manchester in March.
A HMRC spokesman said: "Lulat thought he'd aced the tournament but we had the better hand in the end."
Criminal cash
During a hearing at Manchester Crown Court, he was also ordered to hand over 拢2,840 held in a personal bank account within three months or face another 15 months in jail, HMRC said.
Lulat was a part of a gang that worked for other crime groups moving about 拢40m of illicit cash through a variety of bank accounts in the UK and Europe in 2010 and 2011.
They were also behind a separate VAT fraud and investigators tracked their activities across Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic.
The gang had fabricated businesses to make fraudulent VAT repayment claims against a several EU member states using a complex web of transactions.