Property developer brothers sentenced for £3.2million tax evasion in Wakefield land deal

Two property developer brothers have been sentenced over a £3.2million tax scam.

Stephen Hirst, 62, from Bridlington, and Michael Hirst, 55, from Wakefield, used offshore companies in overseas territories to hide money from the sale of land in Wakefield.

They pleaded guilty to cheating the public revenue in July 2023, but were given a year to pay both the tax they owed and the prosecution costs.

Having paid the amounts owed they were each sentenced at Leeds Crown Court to two years in prison, suspended for two years.

Stephen Hirst was fined £12,000. Michael Hirst was fined £8,000.

Both men have been banned from acting as company directors for eight years.

The case dated back to August 1999, when the brothers' company Heritage Holdings Limited bought land on Park Drive in Wakefield for just over £700,000.

The brothers split the plot into four parts and sold some of it for much less than it was worth to a second company, registered in Gibraltar but run by the defendants in the UK.

They also set up another company of the same name in the British Virgin Islands.

In March 2007, the land was sold for over £10million after planning permission was granted.

It mean the brothers should have paid £3.2million in tax, but they failed to declare their revenue to HMRC and used their offshore businesses to hide the profits.

When HMRC began make enquiries, both men were given a chance to declare any tax liability, but failed to acknowledge any association with their offshore companies.

Zoe Gascoyne, deputy director of fraud investigation at HMRC, said the Hirsts had "numerous opportunities" to be honest about their tax affairs.

“Instead, they lied about the network of firms and ownership structures they had set up to commit fraud and have ended up with criminal convictions," she said.

“We are pleased to have recovered every penny of the money they stole, which will now be used on the public services we all rely on.

“We continue to work tirelessly to ensure the tax system is fair to all and this case shows once again that we will work with international partners to ensure a level playing for all taxpayers.”

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