HMRC’s elite Offshore, Corporate and Wealthy (OCW) Unit has secured a total of 67 years for tax evaders in 2020, almost three times the total of 23 years in 2019.

The Express reports that the increase in prison sentences suggests that HMRC’s targeted criminal investigations as a deterrent to address deliberate conduct including professional enabling and tax evasion by high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals is bearing fruits, according to law firm Pinsent Masons.

The OCW Unit was established in the wake of the ‘Panama Papers’ scandal in 2016 to investigate serious non-compliance by businesses and the wealthiest taxpayers.

Andrew Sackey, a partner at Pinsent Masons, commented: “HMRC is proving that wealthy tax evaders who engage in deliberate dishonesty at the expense of the taxman don’t just get fines – they go to prison

“The perception that wealthy people who evade tax only get financial penalties is increasingly untrue. The Offshore, Corporate and Wealthy Unit is now regularly completing painstaking criminal investigations of the most complex and serious forms of tax evasion, resulting in convictions and significant prison time.”

He added that the increase in prison time as a result of the investigations by the OCW is part of a push by HMRC to persuade the courts to punish serious tax evasion with deterrent custodial sentences.

According to Pinsent Mason, the average prison sentence length for tax evasion has increased to an average of 2 years 11 months, which is up by 10 months from 2015/16

The OCW Unit is part of HMRC’s specialist Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) and is responsible for the most complex and high-risk matters investigated by HMRC, including combating international tax evasion and professionals who deliberately enable others to evade their liabilities.

The current threshold for wealthy individuals to be investigated by HMRC’s specialist OCW Unit is lower than many might expect, anyone with an income of over £200,000 per year falls within their terms of reference.

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