Are these the ones whose videos pop up on YouTube where they give offers on watches?
Looks like they are in a spot of bother.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ing-probe.html
Yep saw that and seemingly done for VAT fraud 12 months earlier by avoiding paying VAT on margins …Originally Posted by Martylaa
Proper people,it’s nice to see people like HMRC & NCA getting stuck in.
https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/ne...500-000-taxes/
Last edited by TKH; 15th January 2023 at 12:30.
Their history and that of the principle doesn't fill me with confidence. That said they're still trading seemingly so I hope HMRC etc are not allowing any further debts to build up.
I like their videos but they definitely have a market trader feel to them imo.
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
The next YouTube blog will be interesting.
On the videos they seem to offer sale or return on items so this could create a few problems with those that trusted them with their watches and now caught up in all this.
From how I read it, if you had a watch with them on consignment, you will have to prove to the authorities that you had the means to purchase that watch legally before you get it back.
Unbelievable. And here I thought for the government to seize something they need to have a clear proof of wrongdoing, here they have seized random assets from regular folks and want them to prove that they can afford these assets? Am I reading this correctly?
All rather smelly....but this is going to seem like a routine traffic stop compared with what is heading the way of another, unconnected business.
I wouldn't trust the newspapers to have the exact details of these particular confiscations correct, but in principle I'm all for seizing the assets of criminals and those who cannot explain their wealth. Most of us work damned hard and pay a truck load of tax. Too often we then see crime, tax evasion and inexplicable, conspicuous spending all around us that appears to go unchallenged. My team and I will advise / work pro bono with various agencies in POCA / asset recovery matters and for our own part we won't accept more than £7,000 cash from anyone. It's sickening then to think of competitors all over the place -- including some respected names -- who might take a bag of cash with a wink. "We'll just write a different name on the receipt, yeah?" Try it here and a Suspicious Activity Report is going in.
Last edited by Haywood_Milton; 17th January 2023 at 11:34.
Really enjoy watching their YouTube content. If you dig a bit deeper into this company some of the guys have a criminal past, evading vat, suspicious company activity such as closing down and then reopening with different directors etc...But I am always wary of consigning a watch from an insurance point of view. If your watch is insured and you "give" the watch on consignment and it is lost or stolen then insurance will not pay up. When I have spoken to various companies that advertise on YouTube etc..and mention this I have always got a vague answer.
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When you say "here," you're writing from Switzerland / France according to your profile, yes ?
WatchtraderUK Limited, Company 09709650, apparently now in liquidation.
Tax claim dating back to approx 2019 ?
Director Mr. Stuart Moore.
Timepiece Trading Limited, Company 12133403, apparently trading as WatchTrader & Co.
Incorporated 1st August 2019.
Director Mr. Jack Moore.
Not since the introduction of unexplained wealth orders. Assets can be seized and it’s for the person that claims ownership to prove how they legitimately amassed the wealth to procure the asset otherwise it’s gone.
Last edited by joe narvey; 17th January 2023 at 13:40.
Watchpro have picked up on the story as well today.
https://www.watchpro.com/premier-lea...atchtrader-co/
That's interesting - in France the maximum legal amount for a payment, B to B or C to B, is 1,000 Euros. If the paying party has a fiscal domiciliation outside France the maximum is 15,000 Euros.
I believe that the relevant figure in the UK is still stated in Euros. €10,000 is the limit before one is required to operate as a High Value Dealer. That's about £8,865 as I write this, but our bank is more comfortable with the lower figure of £7,000 and I'm very happy to work with that. Of course, this relates not just to a single transaction but to any number of connected transactions and connected people making those transactions.
A cash purchase of lower value can still trigger a Suspicious Activity Report to the NCA and indeed it was only before Christmas that I last submitted one.
When I see sellers (essentially anonymous but for a mobile phone number) offering watches on Instagram etc. for up to £100,000+, I do wonder if they are even aware of their AML obligations. Or VAT. Or Income Tax.
Domiciliation --- what a great word. I'm picturing a lady in a leather catsuit brandishing a Panerai strap, standing over me while I lie on a bed of Sekondas, a link removal tool on each nipple.
Last edited by Haywood_Milton; 17th January 2023 at 14:51.
You are probably aware of this, but there is/was a consultation on lowering the threshold further. The biggest losers seem to be the small auction houses.
News article from over a year ago here https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/ne...500-000-taxes/.
As far as I'm aware HMRC only publish details when cases are settled so those figures are final but it seems there may be further liabilities for later periods.
The penalty is 70% which just happens to be the maximum for deliberate errors with no reduction for cooperation. I'd expect HMRC to use their power to make the director personally liable for the penalty but if he has organised his affairs such that he has few/no assets then even that may not get paid.
Last edited by deepreddave; 17th January 2023 at 16:00.
Ooooh, some exciting action from FATF, UKF and the acronym gang ! Woo-hoo !
Meanwhile, "700 million roubles for a Kensington Mews? Just place your bag on the scales, Sirski."
I’m aware because a friend with an auction house was asking for help with the regulation. In his case, the issue will get worse before better.
Another friend is involved in AML compliance auctioning NFTs - what could possibly go wrong?
Last edited by joe narvey; 17th January 2023 at 16:07.
I was about to ask if NFT's were a prime candidate for money laundering?.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Yes, they are in the same way that art and antiques are as they have a subjective value.
Digital assets require significant due diligence as does accepting a counterparty in an NFT transaction, understanding the source of wealth and, in the case of crypto currencies, the method of payment and service providers used in the process.
Anyone bought from them prior to their‘troubles’?
I note their latest invoices include the text “This product has been sold on the VAT Margin Scheme”. Wonder if has always been there?
It was on my receipt in September 2021.
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