Dubai based director owes HMRC £1.1m

Will Drysdale, Senior reporter, Business & Accountancy Daily [2023-25]- Croner-i

The director of four companies opened all within a short space of time falsified VAT returns to claim back almost £400,000 from HMRC but has been issued liability notices to repay the debt.

Hassan Waqar, 30, from Dubai, has been banned from being a company director in the UK after Insolvency Service investigators found him to be falsifying his companies VAT returns.

His four companies, HN Restaurants, Kiani Construction, Moneemint Ventures and Zoya Investments, all now dissolved, owe HMRC more than £1m.

Each of the companies submitted false returns to HMRC in the short space of time they were active. Waqar opened the four companies between May 2020 and August 2021.

In total the four companies owed HMRC £1,136,832m in VAT and penalties when they were struck off the Companies House register in 2023.

This was split between £396,982 in VAT after the businesses falsified their documents to reclaim this from HMRC. The remaining £706,692 is owed in penalties and interest.

Hassan has been handed liability notices by HMRC to ensure the debt is recovered and has also been banned from being a company director for 11 years from 26 June 2025.

Victoria Edgar, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: ‘Hassan Waqar submitted falsified documentation for VAT reclamations that his companies were not entitled to receive. 

‘Our investigations found that he failed to provide supporting evidence for claims across multiple businesses, with over £1.1 million owed when these companies were struck off the Companies House register in 2023.

‘The Insolvency Service is committed to taking action against directors who fail to meet their legal and financial obligations, protecting the integrity of the business environment and the tax system.’