How do I report fraud by small companies?

AirBerry

Hello!

Would you tell me the correct process for reporting fraud by a small company?

Here is my case. I know a small company that makes at least £50,000 in profits per year. This has been the case during the past three years. However, when I looked up this company on Companies House, the numbers show that this company has been making under £3,000 per year on average!

Which organisation is tasked to investigate this type of cases? I have grounds to suspect money laundering from the individual who is classed as the "Director" of this company.

I thank you in advance for your information and advice.

hollydays

Do you mean profit or turnover

comeandgo

Are you qualified to read balance sheets? Usually the information of small companies on companies house is very limited. If you are certain the figures are incorrect then you would tell HMRC. I would imagine they will do nothing.

Calpol4life

It’s not this plumbing firm mentioned in your last two posts from few years ago is it?

How are you so certain of their profits?

tacpot12

It would be very unusual for a small company to provide its P&L to Companies House. If you was looking at a Balance Sheet, you are probably seeing a "retained profit" line, not a gross or net profit line. They are very different things.

neilmcl

AirBerry wrote: »

Hello!

Would you tell me the correct process for reporting fraud by a small company?

Here is my case. I know a small company that makes at least £50,000 in profits per year. This has been the case during the past three years. However, when I looked up this company on Companies House, the numbers show that this company has been making under £3,000 per year on average!

Which organisation is tasked to investigate this type of cases? I have grounds to suspect money laundering from the individual who is classed as the "Director" of this company.

I thank you in advance for your information and advice.

Unless you're a qualified accountant and have access to the company's books you're in no position to accuse, let alone infer that a company is committing fraud simply by looking at the data on the Companies House website. Money laundering is an offence so if you have ground to suspect and proper evidence to back this up then go to the police

Mr_Singleton

AirBerry wrote: »

Would you tell me the correct process for reporting fraud by a small company?

It's exactly the same process as reporting large companies.... while your at it can you report Apple as they had revenues of £1,600,000,000 in the U.K yet only paid £2.6 million in Corporation Tax. Now that MUST be fraud!

Undervalued

tacpot12 wrote: »

It would be very unusual for a small company to provide its P&L to Companies House. If you was looking at a Balance Sheet, you are probably seeing a "retained profit" line, not a gross or net profit line. They are very different things.

Indeed.

I would be amazed if there was enough information on a small company's published accounts to confirm the OP's suspicions.

Interestingly (although nor directly relevant) a small charity has to publish far more detailed accounts on the Charity Commission website and those would give the level of detail needed.

TripleH

To answer the Op. one way the company could have made a profit of £50,000 but paid £47,000 to shareholders out as dividends during the year, hence their reserves only increase by £3,000.

All perfectly fine.

HMRC will get a much more detailed copy of the accounts than the ones shown at Companies House and if they suspect anything wrong going on are likely to take action (they tend to target smaller companies who cannot afford / don't use the accounting firms who write the tax rules).

robatwork

AirBerry wrote: »

Hello!


Here is my case. I know a small company that makes at least £50,000 in profits per year. This has been the case during the past three years. However, when I looked up this company on Companies House, the numbers show that this company has been making under £3,000 per year on average!

Big difference in "knowing" and having evidence.

If you do have evidence pop along to https://reporting.actionfraud.police.uk/login and report it

Caz3121

>> I know a small company that makes at least £50,000 in profits per year <<
how are you defining 'profit'?
how do you know all the outgoings this company has? tools, vehicles, wages, premises, loans, dividends. what is their turnover?
Many small businesses can have a high turnover but a tiny profit...they may have no need to leave money sat in the business.