Companies linked to tax fraud raid firm to fold

A dozen companies linked to the director of a firm which was raided by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are being wound up, the BBC can reveal.

Most are based in the same building in Norwich as Green Jellyfish, where HMRC officers executed warrants last September.

Eleven people across the country were arrested on suspicion of tax relief fraud.

The director, 44-year-old Daniel Mark Robinson, did not respond when asked for comment.

The BBC has seen letters and documents sent by the proposed liquidators, Quantuma, to creditors of the companies in question.

They state the companies have the same sole director and shareholder, Mr Robinson.

They are: AS R&D Ltd, Aston Berry Ltd, Glide Business Solutions Ltd, Herasmart Ltd, Impact Business Shared Services Ltd, Joseph Business Associates Ltd, Macadam and Grant Ltd, Purple Panda Services Ltd, and Rogerhopkins Ltd based at the Union Building in Norwich.

Two other companies, Centralised Sales Leadership Ltd and Morgan Woods Ltd, are registered at Fen Ditton in Cambridgeshire.

Another, Toucan Blue Ltd, is located opposite the Union Building on Rose Lane in Norwich.

An undisclosed number of people have lost their jobs.

Green Jellyfish provided consultancy services to companies wanting to claim R&D tax relief.

According to Companies House, its name was changed in 2023 to GJ2020 Ltd.

The letters stated GJ2020 had also gone into administration.

Administration is when efforts are made to save a company while liquidation is a process that ends a company, while seeking payment for creditors.

The BBC revealed how Green Jellyfish and another company, Kirby and Haslam, were targeted in an early morning raid by HMRC officers.

At the time, spokesmen for both companies said they had "nothing to hide".

Paul Rosser, a tax consultant based in Suffolk, has been monitoring Green Jellyfish's activities for a number of years.

He told the BBC: "Having companies wound up in this way is fairly normal, however as some of the companies in the Green Jellyfish group were raided last year on suspicion of tax fraud, resulting in 11 arrests, we would have expected HMRC to appoint their own insolvency practitioner."

He said this was to "ensure any evidence is preserved and to also give them a better understanding of the financial relationships between the various different companies in the Green Jellyfish group".

A spokesman for HMRC said: "We cannot comment on identifiable taxpayers or businesses."

A former employee of Impact Business Shared Services Ltd (IBSS), who did not wish to be identified, said they were among those owed money.

"Everyone at IBSS was let go without their final month's pay," the former worker said.

"We're all out of pocket by a few thousand pounds."

Employee back pay totalling £156,700 is listed in the documents as "unsecured non-preferential claims".

"After secured and preferential creditors - usually banks and HMRC - and any fees for the liquidator are paid, whatever is left is distributed among the remaining, unsecured, non-preferential creditors," Mr Rosser said.

The bulk of IBSS's creditors, who are owed £2.9m in total, were companies within the same group.

Total debts for all 12 companies are currently unknown.

At the time of the HMRC raid, a spokesman for Green Jellyfish said in a statement: "We understand that HMRC has a job to do, and we are fully cooperating and supporting them with the investigation, as we have nothing to hide."

A spokesman for Kirby and Haslam said: "We welcome the investigation from HMRC and understand they have to look into all claims made.

"We have been and will continue to be fully cooperative as we have nothing to hide," they added.

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