Robert Venables KC, one of the UK's leading tax lawyers, has been accused of evading nearly £2 million in tax. The prominent barrister, who has built a reputation as an 'adversary of HMRC', allegedly falsified his earnings declarations over a seven-year period, a court has heard.
Southwark Crown Court was told that Venables set up an 'elaborate' system for his income as a barrister, deliberately failing to declare some of the money he was benefiting from. Prosecutor Julian Christopher KC said Venables 'paid almost £2 million less tax than he should have done'.
The case centres on Venables' annual self-assessments to HMRC between 2014 and 2021, during which he allegedly 'falsely declared the amount of his income for taxation purposes'. The court heard that Venables channelled his earnings through a body called the RVQC Partnership, where he was the sole earner but profits were distributed to partners including himself, allegedly to lower his tax liability.
Mr Christopher told the jury that the trial is about illegal tax evasion, not legal tax avoidance. He said: 'Dishonestly paying less than you know you should be paying is not just tax avoidance – it is tax evasion. It is cheating HMRC of tax which you know you should be paying.'
Venables, who became a barrister in 1973 and a QC in 1990, denies three charges of cheating the public revenue. The trial continues.
