Jail for collapsed BHS owner Dominic Chappell

Dominic Chappell, the man who bought British store group BHS from Sir Philip Green for £1 only for the business to collapse a year later, has been jailed for six years for evading £584,000 (€646,690) in tax.

After Chappell (53) purchased the struggling retail chain in 2015, £2,221,576 was paid directly to him or his company, according to Britain’s crown prosecution service (CPS). The funds came from the store or were raised by selling parts of the group.

The CPS said Chappell failed to pay a large amount of VAT, income and corporation tax due. Instead, the CPS said, he spent thousands of pounds on lavish items including two yachts, a Bentley, £11,000 worth of items from a gun and outdoor wear shop, and luxury breaks.

After failing to secure payment despite repeated demands of the tycoon, and following a formal investigation by HMRC, Chappell was arrested in November 2016.

In his defence, Chappell argued he was too busy resolving issues with BHS to deal with the outstanding taxes that were due. However, Southwark crown court heard that Chappell’s accountants had repeatedly reminded him of his tax obligations

Chappell said he did not have the funds to pay the taxes due but had not acted dishonestly.

The prosecution’s case was that Chappell actively avoided paying the taxes he knew he owed. Instead, he spent this money to fund a lavish lifestyle.

Andrew Fox of the CPS said: "Using evidence gathered by HMRC, we were able to show the jury that Chappell simply chose not to pay large amounts of tax which were due and, as a result, they were sure that he had acted dishonestly."

Mr Justice Simon Bryan said Chappell had engaged in a “long and consistent course of conduct designed to cheat the revenue” and that his actions “over a substantial period of time is an egregious example of such offending”. – PA