‘Ghost brokers’ charged with fraud

A man and a woman from Kent and a man from West London have been charged with motor insurance fraud, tax fraud and money laundering with offences totalling £500,000, according to the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB).

The three individuals are suspected to have been acting as ‘ghost brokers’ – illegal intermediaries – targeting vulnerable communities by providing cheap motor insurance policies, the IFB said.

The applicants’ details are alleged to have been manipulated before being passed to the insurance companies, potentially leaving many motorists uninsured.

Vitaly Malaydakh from Hayes, Middlesex, together with Elina Jaksone and Gagik Kyriacos Manucharyan from Westgate on Sea, Kent, have been charged with tax evasion for non declaration and non payment of tax to HMRC in respect of their earnings as insurance brokers. They have also been charged with fraud whilst acting as insurance brokers, for dishonestly submitting false and misleading information to insurance companies in order to obtain cheap insurance for a set fee.

Further charges have been brought against the Elina Jaksone in respect of tax credits fraud and money laundering offences.

The charges follow an 18-month investigation led by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), and involving the Serious Organised Crime Agency, Department for Work and Pensions, Insurance Fraud Bureau and representatives from various motor insurance companies.

“This is an excellent example of how various agencies and the insurance industry can work successfully in partnership to tackle insurance crime, to protect the interests of genuine insurance consumers,” said IFB director Glen Marr in a statement. “On behalf of the insurance industry, we are very grateful to HMRC for conducting this investigation and for the participation of the other agencies.”

All three individuals have been released on conditional bail and are due to appear at Dover Magistrates Court on Thursday 18 November 2010.