Kenyan locals have poured scorn on the HMRC’s chances of apprehending a Forfar fugitive.
Gareth Johnson, 49, remains at large after going on the run with his father Geoffrey, 74, before a £20 million mobile phone fraud trial in 2014.
HMRC ordered the pair to pay back £109m or 14 years would be added to the 10- and 12-year jail sentences imposed in their absence.
The Johnsons fled to Kenya, where Mr Johnson Snr was holed up in the coastal city of Mombassa, while his son rented an apartment in Muthaiga, a suburb four kilometres north of Kenyan capital Nairobi.
Johnson’s father was eventually deported from Dubai in July after the authorities caught the pensioner travelling from Kenya on a false passport.
The trail has gone cold despite an advert being placed in daily newspapers in Kenya with a reward offered for information.
Kenyan locals have warned it is unlikely Johnson will ever be arrested, suggesting the country is a haven for international criminals.
Tom Randiki said: “Gareth will be in good company. With known foreign and local fugitives happily settled, Kenya certainly has room for one more.
“With over 15 billion (Kenyan Shillings) to his name this guy can have his citizenship processed in record time and even present his name as a candidate for governor in 2022.”
Mugaathe Mubogothi said: “If he is in Kenya, then the British should forget about arresting him.
“Kenya is a dark hole which once a fugitive enters, no telescope from authorities can detect his or her presence. Felicen Kabuga entered Kenya and he disappeared completely.”
Rwandan genocide suspect Kabuga fled to Kenya in 1994 where he is still believed to be running businesses and enjoying protection from either the Kenyan government or some influential figures within the country.
Gareth Johnson was the principal controller behind Tectonics Holdings which played an integral role in the fraud as the money laundering arm of the operation through personal UK and offshore accounts.
He also had control of Coast Logistics which was another company used in the carousel fraud, which stretched across Andorra, Dubai, Hong Kong, USA, Switzerland, Portugal and the UK.
The investigation by HMRC led to four criminal trials between 2012 and 2014.
The 18 gang members from Cheshire, East Sussex, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Wales, Staffordshire, Scotland and Spain, were given jail sentences totalling 135 years.