malicious troublemaking with the taxman

[wamstax]

Following on from the last post I would also point out that it is not always necessary for HMRC to take possession of documents if they know where to get them. For example if a bank and account number were provided (of course there would be nothing to stop a well trained investigator reading a bank account upside down to get information) then HMRC could quite simply take formal action on a third party (the bank) to obtain the underlying documents that would give them the prima facie case necessary to do their worst.

If you ever want to return to the UK (or are susceptible to MARD procedures) then clearly the most effective way forward would be to obtain experienced advice with a view to making a full disclosure to HMRC with a view to a civil settlement.

Short anonymous and hypothetical calls to an experienced tax investigation specialist would be the easiest way to measure the likelihood of success. Clearly however a candid information provision would be necessary to ensure that neither the questioner or the professional were prejudiced in any way