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Anonymous 12.48: I certainly hope HMRC is more interested in getting the money in than prosecuting, that's what it's for. It's a tax authority, it doesn't exist to investigate crime per se. That's the function of the police. And prosecuting is the function of the CPS. Investigating crime and referring for prosecution may sometimes be a useful tool to get across the message that tax fraud can lead to serious consequences, but I'd like to think that not many solicitors would be tempted to commit SDLT fraud so the deterrent benefit of a prosecution here would be limited. Mr Chan might be lucky (though the police could still go after him based on the available evidence), but I'd rather have the 60 grand to pay for a couple of nurses than see him doing 3 years.