Fraudster's £1.5m confiscation order still 'alive' despite error

Stephen Pigott was jailed for conning HM Revenue and Customs into paying out millions in VAT refunds

A fraudster has been told a £1.5m confiscation order is still "alive and kicking" after fears he might avoid repaying it due to an "admin error".

Stephen Pigott, 57, was ordered to pay back his profits from a £40m VAT fraud in 2007, but in February it emerged the order was no longer effective.

Folkestone Magistrates' Court, however, heard on Monday the mistake had been corrected and the order reinstated.

Prosecutor Anna Keighley said the error had no power to "kill off" the order.

Pigott, formerly of Sheffield, was jailed alongside former New York judge Stacey Haber-Hofberg and two others for conning HM Revenue and Customs into paying out millions of pounds in VAT refunds.

The music producer, who has worked with artists including Celine Dion, Rod Stewart and the Pet Shop Boys, was later ordered to repay nearly £1.5m by way of a confiscation order. The amount has since risen to £2.59m as a result of interest.

Ms Keighley told the court a restraint order to freeze Pigott's assets had also been issued and the error occurred when the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) wrote to the High Court to discharge the restraint order.

She said the application had been incorrectly filled out, with the word "confiscation" inserted instead of "restraint".

However, the court heard the mistake was not spotted until Pigott was due to be sentenced for remaining unlawfully at large after recall to prison.

She said following the discovery the CPS had applied for the error to be amended.

"The error made to the High Court in discharging the restraint order was simply that: it was an error," she said.

"The confiscation order is very much alive and kicking and the admin error does not - and never could - have the power to kill off the confiscation order."

On behalf of Pigott, Robert Fitt said his client, who has paid back about £97,000 to date, would be applying for a certificate of inadequacy on the grounds he did not have the assets to make any further repayments.

The hearing was adjourned to 16 August to allow the application to be submitted.

Pigott is due to be sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on 30 July for being unlawfully at large.