Film tax fraudster jailed after two years on the run

A man who fled the country after trying to steal £1m in a film tax fraud operation has been extradited back to the UK and jailed.

Craig Rees, 52, spent more than two years on the run and was arrested in the Czech Republic in March, after he claimed to be in Ukraine, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said.

The 52-year-old was tracked down after sending an email claiming he did not have access to a phone, but the default signature said the message was sent from his iPhone.

Rees, formerly of Shakespeare Avenue, Warwick, had already been jailed for seven years in his absence in 2024 and was sentenced to a consecutive six-month term at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday, HMRC said.

Rees, who admitted to a bail offence, had absconded to avoid being cross-examined for his part in a "staggering and audaciously dishonest" film-related tax fraud.

He was returned to the UK on 9 April after an extradition order was approved by a Czech regional court on 27 March, HMRC said.

His trial was told the charges related to inflated or "completely made up" tax relief claims for the production costs of three separate films.

The judge said it was no coincidence he had deliberately departed to prevent cross-examination of evidence he had given and to avoid "facing the gaping holes" in his account.

The court heard there had been extensive efforts from the department's fugitive unit to locate, arrest and return Rees, including work across multiple European jurisdictions.

Rees had sent a number of messages promising to return but had only been brought back to the UK due to "significant time, resource and expense" from relevant authorities, the judge said.

Ben Close KC, prosecuting, told the court Rees had failed to attend day 51 of his trial in January 2024 and had emailed to say he had travelled to Ukraine.

A HMRC spokesperson said officers had also arrested a 36-year-old man in Manchester on Thursday on suspicion of assisting an offender in connection with the inquiry.

The man was questioned and released under investigation, it added.

Rees and his brother Carl Rees, 54, who was also jailed for seven years in 2024, were both found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue.

Jurors were told the brothers submitted fraudulent Film Tax Relief (FTR) and VAT claims.

To qualify for FTR, at least 25% of the production costs had to relate to activity in the UK at the time they made their claims between 2011 and 2015.

But a HMRC investigation found their claims were fraudulently inflated for the first film, which was moved to the United States.

The second film was entirely made up, and the third movie was produced in the US purely to submit further fraudulent claims, HMRC said.

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