Asif Aziz's Criterion Capital manages a row of high-profile shops at Piccadilly Circus. So why does his team keeping renting them to students who vanish without paying millions of pounds in taxes?
An excellent piece of work, but so infuriating. We Londoners are meant to be angry with people claiming benefits they aren't entitled to, people shoplifting, people fare-dodging - because it's stealing from all of us. Meanwhile this obvious robbery of the public purse is allowed to continue and the freeholder can just laugh all the way to the bank.
Utterly disgusting and outrageous. Well done all involved in reporting. You can have only pity for Westminster Council who are trying to clean up the West End
London gets to regularly sell its body to the highest bidder. Used to be the Russians. I feel ashamed as a proud Londoner. This is economically cancerous. Loathe these bogus shops which destroy our economy and so damages the reputation of a two thousand year old city. It’s so wrong to rip off guests to our city like this as well. Has to stop!
A more likey explanation is that are overworked, understaffed, underresourced, and underskilled to tackle what seems to be quite a sophisticated operation. As stated in the article you can't easily go after Criterion as legally it's not their responsibility. The tenant companies and their 'owners' disappear and reappear anew, while shell companies mask the true owners. You're going to need a really concerted effort to get to those responsible and/or change the law so Criterion has some kind of duty of due dilligence it can be held accountable by if its tenants are found to be hooky.
Amazing reporting - made me finally convert to a paid subscriber. Utterly infuriating - issues around corporate structure and tax evasion is continuously framed as being deeply complex and hard to counter and yet here you guys are making it obvious and easily digestible. Thank you!
Another great piece of investigative fact-based proper journalism! I find it so demoralising that this sort of activity can happen, even though it is illegal, and the likes of HMRC are unable/unwilling to pursue. The result of this is that we, the honest law-abiding individuals, suffer.
Keep up the good work, and the pressure on Criterion Capital. As someone closely involved with the campaign to save Central YMCA and attempts to pressure Asif Aziz and co into recognising the damage caused by the closure of this cherished community asset, every new revelation about the Aziz empire further stokes my furnace of fury.
Presumably most of the customers are paying by card. It should be fairly straightforward for HMRC to trace the funds through the payment processor to the actual beneficial owner of the shops.
One does wonder, in all this absence of accountable tenants, how, in the presence of so much evaporation of cash, Aziz and Criterion were and are able to make sure they get their commercial rents and from whom. They surely won't be so casual about due diligence of prospective tenants, who they really are, and in securing assurance that the rents will be, and are, paid before people do a bunk without paying VAT or commercial rates due? Do the gas, electricity or water bills get paid?
London Centric is great fun and informative, more than justifying the subscription alone. But it’s also the public service journalism London has been sorely missing. Hope there’s some way to make video work to get it the audience it deserves on TikTok/YouTube/Facebook
So someone whose tenants evade tax is leaving to save him personal tax.
Following your other excellent report on harry potter-themed shops doing the same, with the same opaque networks of companies, it is clear there is a huge national problem. I hope and assume the changes involving providing ID and proof of address to register a UK company coming in next year (unbelievable that it hasn't been the case before) will help. But doesn't sound like it's enough if someone else can be the true owner.
After reading this I’m beyond infuriated at the inaction of those who have the powers to put a stop to such fraud.
I’m not a fan of conspiracy theories but the blind eye turning, the inaction from the Treasury team and the ignoring of Westminster Councillors, is inexplicable without something deeply smelly going on.
An excellent piece of work, but so infuriating. We Londoners are meant to be angry with people claiming benefits they aren't entitled to, people shoplifting, people fare-dodging - because it's stealing from all of us. Meanwhile this obvious robbery of the public purse is allowed to continue and the freeholder can just laugh all the way to the bank.
Utterly disgusting and outrageous. Well done all involved in reporting. You can have only pity for Westminster Council who are trying to clean up the West End
London gets to regularly sell its body to the highest bidder. Used to be the Russians. I feel ashamed as a proud Londoner. This is economically cancerous. Loathe these bogus shops which destroy our economy and so damages the reputation of a two thousand year old city. It’s so wrong to rip off guests to our city like this as well. Has to stop!
Thank goodness at last real journalists gets to grip with this. E Standard sold its soul years ago. How has this been allowed to happen?!? How!?
At this point I wonder if HMRC are avoiding investigation intentionally.
Impressive journalism here, really.
A more likey explanation is that are overworked, understaffed, underresourced, and underskilled to tackle what seems to be quite a sophisticated operation. As stated in the article you can't easily go after Criterion as legally it's not their responsibility. The tenant companies and their 'owners' disappear and reappear anew, while shell companies mask the true owners. You're going to need a really concerted effort to get to those responsible and/or change the law so Criterion has some kind of duty of due dilligence it can be held accountable by if its tenants are found to be hooky.
Why would they do that?
Don't dog whistle.
Amazing reporting - made me finally convert to a paid subscriber. Utterly infuriating - issues around corporate structure and tax evasion is continuously framed as being deeply complex and hard to counter and yet here you guys are making it obvious and easily digestible. Thank you!
Another great piece of investigative fact-based proper journalism! I find it so demoralising that this sort of activity can happen, even though it is illegal, and the likes of HMRC are unable/unwilling to pursue. The result of this is that we, the honest law-abiding individuals, suffer.
Keep up the good work, and the pressure on Criterion Capital. As someone closely involved with the campaign to save Central YMCA and attempts to pressure Asif Aziz and co into recognising the damage caused by the closure of this cherished community asset, every new revelation about the Aziz empire further stokes my furnace of fury.
Presumably most of the customers are paying by card. It should be fairly straightforward for HMRC to trace the funds through the payment processor to the actual beneficial owner of the shops.
It’s almost impossible to trace money flows if they’re done by people trying to hide where the money is ultimately going.
One does wonder, in all this absence of accountable tenants, how, in the presence of so much evaporation of cash, Aziz and Criterion were and are able to make sure they get their commercial rents and from whom. They surely won't be so casual about due diligence of prospective tenants, who they really are, and in securing assurance that the rents will be, and are, paid before people do a bunk without paying VAT or commercial rates due? Do the gas, electricity or water bills get paid?
Pull a finger out, HMRC
London Centric is great fun and informative, more than justifying the subscription alone. But it’s also the public service journalism London has been sorely missing. Hope there’s some way to make video work to get it the audience it deserves on TikTok/YouTube/Facebook
So someone whose tenants evade tax is leaving to save him personal tax.
Following your other excellent report on harry potter-themed shops doing the same, with the same opaque networks of companies, it is clear there is a huge national problem. I hope and assume the changes involving providing ID and proof of address to register a UK company coming in next year (unbelievable that it hasn't been the case before) will help. But doesn't sound like it's enough if someone else can be the true owner.
I have forwarded a copy of the article to my London Labour MP with a request for action. I will let you know what her reply is.
More fantastic reporting, thank you for drawing attention to what everyone suspects but cannot prove!
After reading this I’m beyond infuriated at the inaction of those who have the powers to put a stop to such fraud.
I’m not a fan of conspiracy theories but the blind eye turning, the inaction from the Treasury team and the ignoring of Westminster Councillors, is inexplicable without something deeply smelly going on.
This is completely outrageous - not sure how to encourage the government to take action (write to my MP i suppose!)
Very good reporting - and such an infuriating situation! It’s outrageous that this is not picked up by politicians more vigorously.