Ian Andrew Duggua, from the Isle of Man, was found guilty of multiple frauds dating back to 2015 after evading more than £1.1m in VAT.

According to the court, the 60-year-old created false invoices and moved money between accounts across three companies, Lavatec, Technocrats and Meddon, all managed under his umbrella company CLW Management.

Duggua had first committed the fraud to pay off a debt with the Canadian tax authority, however he later used the money to pay for family holidays and his children’s university fees.

Judge Graeme Cook said his actions were ‘planned’ and ‘sophisticated’ to evade large amounts of money to fund his ‘lavish lifestyle’.

Duggua had abused his position of authority to carry out a series of frauds over the sustained period of time, which ‘denied the Isle of Man £1.1m’.

Duggua was sentenced to three years in prison for evading VAT at Douglas Courthouse, for offences committed between 2015 and 2021.

His defence said since his arrest, the 60-year-old had suffered a ‘double stroke’, which ‘was likely caused by the stress’ and he was both ‘embarrassed’ and ‘remorseful’.