Two businessmen who swindled nearly £9 million from the public purse through a teeth whitening products company are facing prison after admitting tax fraud. Alastair Ramage and Ian Barnes evaded £8,499,384.47 in VAT and income tax over a seven-year period, Liverpool Crown Court heard on Friday.
The pair, who ran UK Teeth Whitening Ltd, later known as IBAR Trading UK, treated themselves to Land Rovers, designer goods, expensive jewellery and luxury holidays while failing to pay what they owed to HM Revenue and Customs.
How the fraud worked
Prosecutor Nicola Daley described how the scheme involved setting up various companies in the UK, the Seychelles and Hong Kong. Ramage, 44, of York Close in Formby, evaded income tax amounting to £1,228,792, while Barnes, 53, of Southport Road in Lydiate, owed £1,912,075 in income tax. The unpaid VAT from their business dealings totalled £5,307,549.
Messages between the men revealed their attitude to the money. One from December 4, 2017 read: "In a few hours we'll be in first class. F*** the peasants." Another from Barnes to Ramage stated "46k a month, long may it continue", while a further exchange in November 2018 boasted: "Just think how life was before Hong Kong. Now jetsetting over the world, platinum, living the high life."
Lavish spending exposed
Records showed the two men spending £51,000 with Emirates and £155,000 with Virgin Atlantic in the 2018/19 tax year alone. The 2019/20 period saw £55,000 lavished on holiday destinations and hotels, as well as £86,000 at a Land Rover dealership, £56,000 at David M Robinson jewellers and more than £100,000 at other designer stores.
This splurge continued in 2020/21, with further "significant sums spent at designer stores", as well as more than £100,000 on watches and £182,000 on cryptocurrency.
Nightmares of being caught
Ms Daley added: "Both continued to spend, but messages in January 2021 refer to Mr Ramage having started to have nightmares about being caught by HMRC, and, in July 2021, Mr Barton was joking, indicating that he would buy Mr Ramage's boat and houses and Mr Ramage replying 'need to before HMRC catches up with us'."
During 2022, Ramage messaged a "contact" discussing "doing some business legit", stating: "It's amazing how little money you make when you pay tax. We've spent tens of thousands of pounds and literally hundreds of hours trying to figure out ways not to pay tax. At the end of the day, you end up with money that's difficult to use without raising questions. It's like I have money now to buy a house, but I simply can't buy one because the government asks questions. You can only buy unimportant s*** like bags and holidays."
Court proceedings and next steps
Both defendants admitted three counts of being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of VAT and one of being knowingly concerned in the evasion of income tax. Ramage was questioned by police in February 2023 and June 2024, while Barnes was interviewed in March 2023 and July 2024. Both answered no comment to all questions on each occasion.
Barnes, who has six previous convictions for unrelated offences, accepted through his counsel Alaric Walmsley that "immediate custody is inevitable". Ramage, who has no previous convictions, was described by David McLachlan KC as "embarrassed and ashamed", with the court hearing he has been prescribed benzodiazepine for anxiety and has arranged shared parental responsibility for his 15-year-old son while awaiting the "inevitable prison sentence".
The case was adjourned until Friday next week due to a lack of court time. Barnes, appearing in the dock in a grey Colombia coat, and Ramage, wearing a grey North Face tracksuit, were both remanded into custody. Judge Katherine Pierpoint told them: "Unfortunately, because of the hour, I am not going to pass sentence today. Both defendants have been asked to be remanded into custody. I know that they have both come to court expecting to be going to custody this evening. Any time from now will count towards your eventual, inevitable sentence."
