A Dublin businessman will have to wait to find out if his 6 years jail sentence for a 1.6 million euros tax scam on garlic will be reduced on appeal
The Court of Criminal Appeal has reserved judgment in a challenge by Paul Begley of Begley Brothers Ltd in Blanchardstown, with an address in Redgap, Rathcoole to the severity of his sentence.
Paul Begley was jailed in the circuit court for 6 years in March after customs officers at Dublin Port discovered a container of garlic wrongly labelled as apples in 2007
The head of Ireland’s largest fruit and vegetable producers Begley Brothers Ltd admitted he used fraudulent paperwork in order to avoid the exceptionally high duties importers pay on garlic.
The businessman’s now appealing the severity of the sentence – his lawyers say it’s harsh and disproportionate as he co-operated, pleaded guilty and made reparation payments to the revenue.
They’ve described him as the architect of the case against himself.
In reply the DPP’s legal team say in value the 1.6 million Euro tax scam is at the very highest end of cases before the courts and they claim it caused a competitive disadvantage to others
The Court of Criminal Appeal has reserved judgment on the case.
