Three Kent men who stole £6.9million to fund their lavish lifestyles have been jailed for a total of 19 years.

Kings Hill construction boss Victor Shearer, West Malling accountant Aquil Ahmed and Swanscombe bookkeeper Christopher Azzopardi defrauded HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over two and a half years.

The trio attempted to conceal the missing VAT, income tax payments, national insurance contributions and construction industry scheme (CIS) deductions through a complex network of companies and bank accounts in the UK and offshore.

Ahmed, of St Leonards Street, owned a Bentley, bought properties in the UK, USA and Turkey and took multiple foreign holidays, including trips to Dubai and the Monaco Grand Prix.

The 60-year-old was formerly the director of various Rochester-based accountancy and financial management companies under the 'Keepers' banner.

Shearer, of Discovery Drive, laundered his £1.2 million cut through a bank account in Gibraltar.

The 43-year-old managing director of London-based Leaner Logistics Ltd spent vast amounts on property and high-living, ski holidays, cars and treating friends, family and clients.

Ahmed employed 37-year-old Azzopardi to operate payroll services for clients through his various companies, supposedly calculating wages and paying tax through the PAYE and CIS systems.

Clients were charged VAT on these services, but neither the VAT nor the PAYE and CIS deductions were paid.

Shearer turned to Ahmed to run the payroll and CIS for Leaner Logistics.

Over time, Shearer introduced other clients to Ahmed, who also used the fraudulent scheme.

Azzopardi, of Church Road, was in debt and Ahmed paid him £60,000 — double a bookkeepers normal wage — for his role in the scam.

Ahmed pleaded guilty to three counts of cheating the public revenue at Maidstone Crown Court in June. Shearer and Azzopardi were found guilty of three counts of cheating the public revenue in July after a six week trial at the same court.

On Friday Ahmed was jailed for seven years and eight months, Shearer for seven years and four months and Azzopardi for four years.

Ahmed and Shearer channelled money through Gibraltar, the Channel Islands, the UAE, USA, Turkey and various property transactions.

They are both subject to financial restraint orders meaning they will have to keep HMRC informed of their financial goings on.

Upon sentencing the men, His Honour Judge Macdonald QC, said: "The loss to HMRC is just another way of stealing from citizens of the UK.”

Adding: "These me took millions to spend on themselves”.

Chris Gill, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “These men were driven by greed, abusing systems that are designed to ensure workers are paid correctly and taxes paid to HMRC.

"They were all professionals who knew they were breaking the law, but as an accountant Ahmed was in a position of trust, making his part in the conspiracy even more deplorable.

“These criminals thought they’d created a sophisticated fraud, and that by operating through numerous UK and offshore companies, they could hide what they were doing.

"But our investigations are thorough, and with assistance from authorities in Gibraltar, we unravelled the many layers they’d created and they are now paying the price for their crimes.

“This investigation shows that regardless of the resources of those involved, or how hard they try to hide their crime, no one is beyond our reach.

"Tax evasion isn’t victimless, it is theft from public services used by us all.

"If you know of anyone who is committing tax fraud please call our 24-hour hotline on 0800 59 5000 and help us stamp it out.”