Catford Papa John’s pizza boss jailed after £669,000 tax evasion

By Toby Porter

A pizza boss who cooked the books to commit tax fraud has been jailed for four years after an HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigation.

Abassin Badshah, 35, was the franchisee of a Papa John’s pizza takeaway in Catford.

He evaded paying £669,000 in Income Tax, National Insurance and Corporation Tax.

Badshah, of Quernmore Close, Bromley, suppressed the true sales figures for the Papa John’s takeaway he ran at 223 Bromley Road, Bellingham, to evade Income Tax and National Insurance.

He also submitted fraudulent VAT and Corporation Tax returns during the seven-year period in which he committed the offences.

He was found guilty after a two-week trial and was sentenced to four years in prison today, 12 March 2021 at Southwark Crown Court,

Richard Wilkinson, assistant director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “Badshah’s greed was his downfall. He under-declared his pizzeria’s income because he wanted to keep more of it for himself and his dishonest actions have resulted in today’s sentence.

“I urge anyone with information about any type of tax fraud to report it online or contact the HMRC fraud hotline on 0800 788 887.”