'The most powerful members of society are able to escape prosecution for financial crimes, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has admitted.
The non-ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for the collection of taxes released this information for the first time at an economic crime conference in Cambridge last week.
During the conference a senior government official admitted that the tax authorities settled the debts of celebrities and the rich privately to avoid the embarrassment of a public trial.
Richard Las, the deputy director of HMRC in charge of organised crime, admitted the 'very wealthy and prominent members of the community' feared the 'reputational damage' a criminal trial would bring.
He told The Times: 'When deciding whether to deploy our resources, we try to understand what motivates different types of offenders.
'For example, some tax offenders are very wealthy, prominent members of the community.
'We know that these types of people do not want the reputational damage of custodial sentences, and we can use that to our advantage.'
In spite of this, the department continues to prosecute others who evade the law, thereby raising concerns about their conduct.'
Read more: Tax authorities admit they DO treat the rich differently...
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