A former employee of the Gambian Embassy has been jailed for three years for his role in a tobacco scam that cheated the exchequer out of nearly £5million.
Veerahia Ramarajaha, a driver of Drinkwater Road on the Rayners Lane Estate, in South Harrow, played a role in an organised scheme in which foreign officials exploited their diplomatic privileges to order and stockpile commercial quantities of tax-free rolling tobacco and sell them on for a profit.
The 54-year-old was one of seven defendants convicted on Monday at Southwark Crown Court and sentenced yesterday (Wednesday).
More than £4.8m in VAT and excise duty were avoided on the goods, sold from the embassy of the Republic of The Gambia, in Kensington, west London, where customers allegedly queued outside like a genuine tobacconists.
Lisa Rose, specialist fraud prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “The deception undertaken by these defendants involved a serious breach of the trust of their own government and of the British people.
“The scheme they designed and implemented not only resulted in the public purse being cheated of almost £4.8m in tax revenue, but it also abused their diplomatic status, taking advantage of the entire system of diplomatic privilege which is reliant on trust and responsibility.
“For all practical purposes, the scheme in operation was like running a business and the volume of tobacco was so large that to suggest it was for personal use, or for the use of the High Commission, is implausible.
“Fraud cases requiring diplomatic immunity to be waived are unusual. We would like to thank the government of The Gambia for waiving diplomatic immunity in respect of the four defendants, who otherwise would have enjoyed the benefit of immunity in this case, and to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in securing those waivers.
“The public should have confidence that in cases where our tax systems have been exploited, all steps will be taken to ensure diplomatic staff cannot commit offences and then hide behind diplomatic immunity.”
Ramarajaha, who has since left to work for the Zambia High Commission, was convicted of conspiracy to cheat the revenue alongside his co-defendants – deputy head of the high commission Yusupha Bojang; former first secretary Gaston Sambou; welfare officer Georgina Gomez; accountant Ebrima John; receptionist Audrey Leeward; and secretary Hasaintu Noah
Ramarajaha was additionally convicted of dealing, harbouring, concealing or carrying dutiable goods – storing the tobacco at his home.
Co-defendant Ida Jeng Njie, director of tourism international at the Gambia Tourism Board, which shares the same building as the embassy, was acquitted of conspiracy to cheat the revenue.
Ramarajaha was also made to pay a £120 victim surcharge and the tobacco was confiscated.
