An Angus VAT fraudster who risks being sent to jail for a further five years has paid back £365,000 of his ill-gotten gains.
The HMRC told Albert Amritanand, who is almost due for release, that he had to repay more than £500,000 to the public purse this month or face a further five years in prison.
Forfar man Amritanand, 69, has paid £365,000 towards his Confiscation Order, which leaves £137,000 outstanding.
He has applied to the court for more time to pay.
Amritanand was given until September 14 to pay up by His Honour Judge Campbell at Kingston Crown Court in Surrey and was remanded in custody.
Amritanand could receive another confiscation order when he returns.
The HMRC said it did not wish to comment at this stage given the matter remains unsettled.
Amritanand and former Forfar man Gareth Johnson, 47, were part of an 18-strong crime gang that stole £20 million in a mobile phone VAT fraud. They were involved in the carousel fraud, which stretched across Andorra, Dubai, Hong Kong, USA, Switzerland, Portugal and the UK.
Armitanand and Johnson were sentenced to five years and 12 years respectively in 2013, but Johnson went on the run before he could be brought to trial.
Carousel fraud, also known as MTIC fraud, has been a major problem for the taxman.
Small high-value goods such as mobile phones are bought VAT-free then sold on without paying the VAT, with the company going missing.
Amritanand, of Reswallie, Murton, was the ninth gang member to receive a confiscation order from HMRC since the gang was jailed for a total of 135 years following four trials from April 2012 to September 2014,
He was Dubai-based Tectonics Holdings’ bookkeeper and the “money mover” for accounts under his control.
Johnson, previously of Turin, Forfar, played an integral role in the fraud as the money laundering arm of the operation through personal UK and offshore accounts.
Efforts are continuing to bring him to justice after he was sentenced to 12 years in jail in his absence in 2013.
He was the principal controller behind Tectonics Holdings and he also had control of Coast Logistics but he remains at large.