Where is convicted fraudster, Arif Patel?
Criminals defrauding the tax system costs the UK billions of pounds in lost revenue each year.
The BBC’s File on 4 Investigates tells the story of one of the country’s most prolific tax fraudsters, who stole tens of millions of pounds of public money and seemingly got away with it.
In 2023, Arif Patel, from Preston, Lancashire, was convicted of attempting to steal more than £90m of public money and was sentenced to 20 years in jail.
The judge described Patel as being ‘breathtakingly arrogant’ and ‘totally dishonest’.
But Patel wasn’t there to hear this condemnation and he hasn’t served a single day of his sentence because he fled to Dubai more than a decade ago.
In this episode of BBC News: Behind the Investigation, Melanie Stewart-Smith speaks to journalist Ben Robinson, who tells the story of how he got onto the trail of the fugitive fraudster who stole from all of us.
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00:00 The fraudster who got away
00:55 Meet the reporter who chased the story for 20 years
01:29 Who is Arif Patel? The Preston tycoon
02:37 How the VAT carousel fraud worked
03:59 Selling Swiss hats to the Swiss
04:54 Hundreds of officers raid the empire
05:31 Allowed on bail to Dubai and never returned
06:12 “I’m a tiger, not a caged tiger”
07:56 Convicted in his absence: 20 years
10:05 The strange websites praising Arif Patel
12:56 A real photo shows his life of luxury
14:50 The anti-corruption champion reacts
15:54 Dubai’s response and final thoughts
