Thursday 18th June, 2015

Paul Retout, a former Financial Controller who was jailed for 16 months in October last year after he admitted submitting false invoices, and defrauding his company out of £60,000, helped fellow inmates get tax rebates.

The 53 year old was sent to HMP Wandsworth in London where it's now been revealed that he offered inmates 'tax seminars'.

Writing for Inside Times, he said: ‘While I was recently in prison I volunteered to run a two hour taxation seminar under the business start-up education programme, and to share my tax experiences of setting up a business with my fellow prisoners."

 ‘What surprised me was that several prisoners attending the seminar were due tax refunds and were simply not aware of the fact.’

‘The average refund that I calculated while I was in prison was approximately £1,000.’

He said he was then moved to HMP Brixton, where he saw a similar situation, adding: ‘What became clear was that taxation was a topic that prisoners wanted further information on but there was very little support, if any to help them.

Mr Retout has now been released.