Brit celeb accountants face tax charges

LONDON, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- British tax collectors say a pair of London accountants failed to pay taxes on investments collected from celebrities, sports figures and other wealthy clients.

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs alleges David Perrin and Roy Faichney, senior managers of Vantis, a stockmarket-listed accountancy firm, will face tax evasion charges on $347 million raised from investors, The Sunday Times of London reported.

The newspaper said the government claims more than $7.1 million of the pair's proceeds "found its way to offshore bank accounts controlled by some of the defendants as part of a maneuver to disguise their liability for personal tax on the money."

There are no allegations wrongdoing on the parts of the investors. Vantis's celebrity client list reportedly includes former English rugby team captain Martin Corry and Yusuf Islam, the U.S. singer-songwriter formerly known as Cat Stevens. They and other investors, however, may find themselves unwittingly caught up in the affair, the newspaper said.

"David Perrin and Roy Faichney, employees of Vantis Group, will be strenuously defending any charges brought against them, having received a summons to appear at Highbury Corner magistrates' court on Oct. 30, 2009," Vantis said in a statement.