Maurice is counsel in the private client and tax team, focused on UK tax investigations.
His work focuses on business and personal tax investigations on behalf of high profile individuals as well as corporations which face either civil or criminal investigation. He often works in conjunction with leading accountancy firms to minimise the client's risk of prosecution and the amount of tax properly payable.He has been involved in many of the major cases of the past 30 years. These began with the famous nationwide Richmond Rendezvous group of Chinese restaurants in 1981, at the time the largest tax prosecution ever and the first combined operation by HM Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise (before they merged in 2005).
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Me in a minute
I passionately believe that having greater powers brings a duty to be open and fair so that the individual has a chance to argue on a level playing field
I knew since I was about 11 that I was someone who felt strongly about fairness. Arguing the case for myself or others came easily and it was a natural progression to becoming a solicitor at 23.At 24, I fell into white collar litigation and tax investigations by chance, when one senior lawyer was too busy and the second fell ill and I was asked to represent a man accused of the largest tax fraud the UK had ever known. I was hooked.
The case I am probably proudest of was representing an elderly accountant, on the verge of retirement and with a distinguished career behind him, who was wrongly accused of helping a client to hide income offshore. The former Inland Revenue was open with its concerns and evidence, and even before they came to interview my client I carried out our own investigation which showed the allegations were false. I still have the client's letter of thanks 25 years on.The powers of investigatory authorities can be overwhelming. I passionately believe that having greater powers brings a duty to be open and fair so that the individual has a chance to argue on a level playing field.Being a life-long follower of Watford Football Club sits well with someone who supports the underdog. Many years ago, I was invited to play in a trial and, who knows, if things had gone better my career may have proceeded on another kind of level playing field.