Tax fraud accountant named

Inland Revenue says Wellington accountant Imran Kamal was a key player in a recent high profile tax evasion case. Photo / APNZ

Name suppression has been lifted on a Wellington accountant found guilty of providing false tax returns and misleading information to the Inland Revenue.

Imran Mohammad Kamal was given name suppression until January 10 in a ruling made by the Wellington High Court on December 19.

IRD group tax counsel Graham Tubb welcomed the lifting of the suppression and said Kamal was a key player in a recent high profile tax evasion case involving Brent Gilchrist and Scott Anderson.

Kamal's company, Accountants First Limited, received invoices from Gilchrist and Anderson for IT services that they never provided.

The company paid the invoices for these claims but the money was put into an offshore account.

Kamal kept almost 90 per cent of it for himself, while the others received the difference as a 'fee' for their involvement.

Accountants First Limited also altered tax invoices in an attempt to hide the offending, and used the offshore bank account in a tax evasion scheme, redirecting the funds back into New Zealand through paying for work done on Kamal's house, Tubb said.

Kamal was sentenced last year to 3 months home detention, and 150 hours community work on five charges of providing false tax returns and one charge of providing misleading information to Inland Revenue intending to evade tax.

Tubb said tax professionals had a duty to uphold the integrity of the tax system.

"...the vast majority work hard to ensure that those they offer help to are operating within the rules. "Unfortunately some will try and cheat the tax system as will those who choose to take that advice. "The public can be confident that Inland Revenue will take action, including in some cases the removal of the right to act as a tax agent for others."