A West London gangmaster, jailed for six years in 2008 for fraud, has been ordered to re-pay £1.7m to tax authorities.

Mazhar Hayat Raja, formerly of 279 Hounslow Road, Hanworth, Feltham, Middlesex, was found guilty of pocketing tax and National Insurance he should have deducted from his employees wages’ and paid to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Raja ran a series of companies supplying labour to a number of different industries with Raja netting at least £3m over a 10-year period.

During the trial Raja was shown to have lied throughout an investigation by HMRC officers and completed false statements of his personal assets. Investigators discovered that Raja recruited for several agencies since the early 1990s, in the engineering and electronics industries, that had been ‘hidden’ behind a number of companies that he secretly controlled. These companies were subsequently dissolved after Raja has pocketed the PAYE tax and National Insurance deducted from his employees.

The court also heard how Raja had supplied labour to businesses serving Heathrow and Gatwick airports in the commercial sector. Although he made PAYE returns for these companies, they were altered to conceal the true amounts which should have been paid to HMRC. He also set up a number of bank accounts in the names of his wife and other relatives to conceal the hundreds of monies he had extracted from the companies.

At Tuesday’s hearing a Confiscation Order was made and Raja was told to re-pay £1.7m by 5 October 2009, or face a further six years in prison.

Raja’s worldwide assets, estimated at £1.7m, have been restrained by HMRC including bank accounts and investments and properties of which he has a financial interest in London, Scotland and Lahore, Pakistan.

Robert Alder, assistant director for HMRC, said: “Tackling fraud is one of our top priorities. We have a duty to stop money being diverted and stolen from the nation in what are often large scale and ruthless attacks on the tax system.

“This case is a result of an in-depth investigation by dedicated officers, who work tirelessly and diligently, against those intent on stealing from the public purse. We are committed to bringing the criminals responsible for this form of crime to justice and deny them from being able to retain and enjoy the proceeds of their crimes.“