Criminal son of Angus fraudster who died in prison still on the run

By Amie Flett

January 23 2023, 2:05pm

A mug-shot of Gareth Johnson and his father, Geoffrey Johnson, who died in prison this month. Image: HMRC and DC Thomson.

The criminal son of Angus fraudster Geoffrey Johnson – who died in prison in January – remains at large after nine years on the run.

Gareth Johnson is one of Tayside’s most wanted men after he fled the UK in 2013 alongside his father, Geoffrey.

The duo went on the run as authorities sought to bring them to justice for a multi-million-pound tax fraud.

Convicted in their absence, Geoffrey was ordered to serve 10 years in prison while Gareth was jailed for 12 years.

The father-and-son were also ordered to pay back £109m to HMRC or face an additional 14 years being added to their jail term.

Father and son flee to Africa

Gareth and his father travelled to Tanzania where they hid in plain sight from authorities, running a string of businesses before eventually fleeing to neighbouring Kenya.

This included a plant hire firm with 125 employees in Dar es Salaam, as well as several clubs and restaurants.

Geoffrey was eventually caught and brought back to Britain in July 2017 when he attempted to travel between Kenya and Dubai with a fake passport.

He was sentenced to 24 years and six months in prison but died on January 12, aged 79, after serving less than six years of his jail term.

His son, Gareth, remains at large nine years after escaping justice.

Authorities issued a newspaper advert in Kenya in an attempt to trace Gareth Johnson. Image: HMRC.

After his father’s capture, authorities released a mug-shot of Gareth, now aged 54, and offered a reward to locals in Kenya for information on his whereabouts.

But the trail went cold in 2017 and authorities say efforts to trace him are still ongoing.

He faces 26 years behind bars if he is caught.

What did they do?

An HMRC probe discovered Geoffrey and Gareth were part of an 18-member crime gang that stole £20 million in a mobile phone VAT fraud.

They were involved in a carousel fraud which stretched across Andorra, Dubai, Hong Kong, USA, Switzerland, Portugal and the UK.

The scam involves traders working together to claim back VAT which was never paid on goods sold between the companies.

Geoffrey Johnson died in January. Image: DC Thomson.

Gareth was the principal controller behind Tectonics Holdings, which the investigation found had which played an integral role in the fraud as the money laundering arm of the operation.

Four criminal trials took place as a result of the investigation, with 18 gang members receiving sentences totalling 135 years.