Nadhim Zahawi has agreed to pay millions of pounds in tax to HMRC following a dispute over his family’s financial affairs
The former chancellor has agreed to pay a seven-figure sum to the tax authority to settle a tax dispute totalling £3.7m related to his family trust, Balshore Investments.
In July, HMRC examined the tax affairs of MP Nadhim Zahawi after an inquiry was launched by the National Crime Agency (NCA) in 2020.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had also investigated Zahawi’s finances, according to a report in the Independent.
The investigation probed Zahawi’s involvement in a scheme to avoid tax by using an offshore company to hold shares in YouGov – the polling company he co-founded.
His family trust, Gibraltar-registered Balshore Investments, held a stake worth more than £20m, but sold up in 2018, with the proceeds being transferred to an unknown recipient.
Tax Policy Associates, a think tank, has estimated that Balshore’s sale of YouGov shares should have incurred capital gains tax (CGT) of about £3.7m.
Zahawi has insisted that he ‘does not have, and never has had’ an interest in Balshore Investments and that he was ‘not a beneficiary’.
A spokesperson for Zahawi said: ‘As he has previously stated, Mr Zahawi’s taxes are properly declared and paid in the UK. He is proud to have built a British business that has become successful around the world.’
Contesting the news, Zahawi stated: ‘There have been news stories over the last few days which are inaccurate, unfair and are clearly smears. It’s very sad that such smears should be circulated and sadder still that they have been published.
‘These smears have falsely claimed that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the National Crime Agency (NCA), and HMRC are looking into me. Let me be absolutely clear. I am not aware of this. I have not been told that this is the case.
‘I’ve always declared my financial interests and paid my taxes in the UK. If there are questions, of course, I will answer any questions HMRC has of me.’
Labour chair Anneliese Dodds has said there were ‘serious questions’ for Zahawi to answer, saying: ‘Why did Nadhim Zahawi claim last summer that he had paid his taxes in full, and that he wasn’t aware of an investigation? When was he made aware of an investigation? Was the prime minister aware of an investigation when he appointed Nadhim Zahawi to the cabinet?’
