Remember Entatech? UK liquidators are still trying to seize founder Jason Tsai's assets

The crumbling multinational empire of nan distie erstwhile known arsenic Entatech has travel nether scrutiny successful nan High Court again arsenic liquidators moving connected behalf of nan UK's taxman effort to prehend nan assets of laminitis Jason Tsai and his family.

In an ongoing saga that first came to nationalist attraction erstwhile Tsai was jailed for contempt of tribunal successful 2017, liquidators from Begbies Traynor are still struggling, years later, to retrieve each nan rate and assets from Entatech's downfall.

"Your lordship whitethorn callback nan situation authorities intercepted an email we deliberation was from Ruth, John and Andrew instructing [Tsai] to proceed to dishonesty and telling him what to say, giving him a book of falsehoods. That is nan discourse for this," barrister Stephen Robins told High Court judge Tom Leech QC yesterday morning.

Robins was seeking a assortment of asset-freezing orders and proprietary injunctions against nan Tsai family, arsenic portion of Begbies Traynor's efforts to way down what nan liquidator claims are ill-gotten gains squirrelled distant retired of scope of nan British authorities.

Entatech – legally speaking, Enta Technologies Ltd, renamed Changtel Solutions successful 2015 – was forced nether aft Ji-Chuen "Jason" Tsai was found to beryllium portion of a VAT carousel fraud scheme. That sewage him banned from being a institution head for 13 years backmost successful 2017, having exited nan business successful 2013.

Tsai's tax-dodging betwixt 2007 and 2010 near him owing millions to HMRC which nan liquidation of Entatech, erstwhile enjoying a turnover of £110m per annum, was expected to cover. Yet aft trying to rotation an elaborate web of lies to nan High Court and hide his world web of assets, Tsai was thrown successful jailhouse – and Begbies Traynor is still struggling to get its hands connected nan millions he and his family supposedly dispersed crossed nan globe.

Speaking for immoderate of nan Tsais*, barrister Paul Greenwood told nan court: "The main objection to this proceeding is nan bid being made successful respect of nan proprietary injunction and nan extended disclosure, ancillary and proprietary injunction disclosure orders... That is nan existent attraction of nan conflict betwixt nan parties."

He later added: "There were non-fraudulent parts of this business," referring to Entatech's IT distie activities.

Ruth – Tsai's woman – and his sons, Andrew and John, were said successful tribunal to person been progressive participants successful Tsai's taxation fraud. When investigators caught up pinch nan man himself, he enlisted his family to thief move money offshore and extracurricular nan effective scope of HMRC and its liquidators, as High Court judge Mrs Justice Rose recovered successful 2017.

"We are, I'm afraid, dealing pinch group who, it's clear, don't want to show nan truth and will do immoderate they tin to debar having to uncover nan whereabouts of nan missing monies," continued Robins successful tribunal yesterday.

The barrister besides told nan tribunal that John has declared himself bankrupt successful nan US, creating further disorder successful nan case, which involves 9 defendants from Tsai's family and a Seychelles corp called Lead Summit Limited.

The liquidation of Changtel Solutions and applications for freezing orders against nan Tsais continues. ®

Bootnotes

* "Some complication has been caused because historically [solicitors' firm] Edwin Coe took instructions done John [Tsai] connected behalf of those respondents," said Greenwood, telling nan judge he represented Tsai's youngest boy Andrew, Andrew's woman Pui-Lai, and 3 different people. "Those [people] each unrecorded overseas variously successful Taiwan and different places. As a consequence of John's changed circumstances we nary longer return instructions done John and that has caused trouble successful getting instructions from them," explained nan barrister, leaving nan business arsenic clear arsenic mud.

Curious readers tin inspect Tsai's erstwhile family homes successful Telford - referred to successful winding up reports (PDF) revenge astatine Companies House upon liquidation of Entatech - connected an property agent's website. The two gated properties seemingly fell into disrepair aft nan Tsais were forced retired of them pursuing Jason's downfall.

Enta Technologies Ltd's past group of accounts revenge nether Tsai's control, successful 2013, show revenues of £160m (over a one-off 16-month period) but pre-tax profits of conscionable £86,000. They besides revealed £255,572 successful charitable donations to nan Tsai Lau-Chi Charitable Foundation "to heighten their civilization speech programmes".