Man Anas Sarwar, dubbed ‘Scotland’s Donald Trump’, faces jail time over VAT

Mohammed Ameen Mirza, 58, submitted false declarations for a shop in Gorbals in Glasgow and another in Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire in April 2014.

There was a £4m sales discrepancy resulting in £725,000 of VAT not being paid.

The food magnate has been accused of evading VAT by not declaring his earnings in 2015.

Mr Mirza was previously photographed in 2014 with former Labor Prime Minister Gordon Brown and former MP Mohammad Sarwar, the Scottish Labor leader’s father.

After his indictment, he remained politically active, serving as Scottish President of the right-wing Pakistan Muslim League party.

In March 2017, Anas Sarwar attended a dinner with him at a Glasgow restaurant to visit Sardar Asad Khan Balooch, the new mayor of Sahiwal in southern Punjab.

Anas Sarwar gave a funny introductory speech that was shown on an Asian TV channel.

Pointing to Mr Mirza, who was sitting two seats to his left, he said: “Thank you to the President of the Muslim League. I’m delighted to have Scotland’s Donald Trump with us today.

“He also wants to build a wall, but a wall between India and Pakistan, and ‘India will pay for it’ is the campaign there.”

“No, seriously, I mean, Mirza Sahib is perfect proof, Mr. Mayor, that no matter what political affiliation we have in Pakistan, or whatever affiliation we may have with our city or region in Pakistan when it comes to the affairs Going to Pakistan, or welcoming guests from Pakistan, we are a united community.”

At the time, the SNP called the comments “disgusting, even if they were made in jest”, while Labor pointed out that an SNP councilor was also present and said Mr Sarwar had been invited a few months earlier to address the Labor Party at the Mayor of to represent Sahiwal.

The Daily Record and Times have now reported that Mr Mirza could face jail after pleading guilty in Glasgow Sheriffs Court to filing false VAT returns with HMRC that did not accurately reflect sales.

The period covered was from December 2011 to April 2014.

Mr Mirza was also charged with possessing and concealing £474,800 worth of criminal property kept in one of the shops, but a plea of ​​innocence was accepted.

He will be sentenced at a later date, but tax evasion can result in fines and imprisonment.

The court heard that Mr Mirza had operated two Nisa shops as a sole proprietor since 1999 and had employed an accountant and an accountant to handle his business financial affairs.

In 2012, HMRC contacted his accountant and informed him that the shopkeeper had not made any recent VAT returns and requested that business records, invoices, expense receipts, cash register statements and weekly till receipts be produced.

The filings finally came in April 2014 and the accountant stated that Mr Mirza agreed with the figures and that the results to his knowledge were “true and correct”.

HMRC then compared Nisa’s sales data to the quarterly VAT returns.

Prosecutor Graham MacDonald said: “Due to the extent of the apparent discrepancy, the matter has been referred to the criminal investigation department for consideration.”

After search warrants were issued in 2015, sales and business records were checked and it was found that Mr Mirza had reported sales totaling £5,073,510.

However, the court concluded that £9,467,167 should have been declared, meaning there had been ‘undeclared’ sales of £4,393,657.

The VAT due was £1,266,955 but Mr Mirza indicated that he had to pay £541,896 of VAT to HMRC.

Mr MacDonald said: “Mirza received a benefit of £725,059 as this was not paid by him to HMRC after filing incorrect tax returns in April 2014.”

“The amount remains unpaid, which is a material advantage for Mirza.

“It is evident that the VAT returns submitted were incorrect as an average of 46.4% of the sales data was not included. This is due to the ruthless approach Mirza took to managing his business records during this time.”

Mr Mirza, who lives in Glasgow’s Pollokshields area, is facing a separate hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Sheriff Andrew Cubie stayed the sentencing over reports and proceeded to release Mr Mirza on bail.

Scottish Conservatives’ Shadow Justice Secretary Russell Findlay MSP said: “When Anas Sarwar was seen laughing and joking next to an alleged fraudster, it confirmed his poor judgement.”

“Now that Mohammed Ameen Mirza has finally been convicted, perhaps the Scottish Labor leader can explain what he found so funny.

“It’s the hard-working Scots who foot the bill when scammers cheat the country out of huge sums of money.”

A Scottish Labor spokesman said: “Mr Sarwar was invited to represent the Labor Party at a dinner with the Mayor of Sahiwal, which he accepted.”

“Other guests specially invited by the organizers attended this dinner, such as representatives of the SNP and Pakistani politics.”