Two individuals working in financial services who used offshore entities as part of their tax evasion have been convicted and sentenced in Australia.

Two men have been convicted and sentenced to jail for serious tax offences following investigations by authorities in Australia. 

A former financial advisor has been convicted in the Sydney District Court for tax fraud offences totalling more than A$700,000 ($515,010). Jeffrey Conklin was sentenced to five years and nine months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of two and a half years, a statement from the Australian Taxation Office and Australia’s Federal Prosecution Office said.

Conklin used a scheme involving various offshore entities and trusts to hide his income and then attempted to conceal the return of this income to Australia. He subsequently left Australia and was arrested at the border when attempting to re-enter the country in June 2014.

This verdict follows a second tax crime prosecution on 29 April 2016, when Timothy Charles Pratten was convicted and sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court to five years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of two years, for failing to declare income in his income tax returns for the financial years ending 30 June 2003 to 2009, the statement said.

The former insurance company director used a web of offshore entities in Vanuatu, including trusts and companies, to conceal about A$4.552 million in income from the ATO, resulting in a tax shortfall of approximately A$2.055 million. Pratten used these funds to support a lavish lifestyle, buying multiple properties, a helicopter and a luxury boat.

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions last week lodged an appeal with the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal in the matter of Pratten because it regards the sentence imposed as “manifestly inadequate” for the crimes he committed.

The two guilty convictions are results under the Serious Financial Crime Taskforce, which was created on 1 July 2015. This body focuses on serious international tax evasion as well as other criminal activities related to phoenix businesses and abusive use of trusts.

Agencies forming the SFCT include the Australian Federal Police, Australian Taxation Office, Australian Crime Commission, Attorney-General’s Department, Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecution and Australian Border Force.