A BRITISH Paralympics squad has allegedly become embroiled in an multi-million-pound scam involving the tax-free sale of top of the range luxury cars.

Several members of the team are alleged to have purchased scores of cars each for their “own personal use”.

The cars – including Range Rovers, Land Rover Discoveries, Bentleys and an Aston Martin – were bought Vat-free as part of a tax break to help the handicapped.

The vehicles were then resold to dealers who shared in the profits from the 17.5% Vat discount. In some cases the car never left the showroom as it was bought back by the dealer who sold it.

An investigation by The Sunday Times has identified several current and retired internationals who have allegedly profited from such sales.

Two of the former internationals are alleged to have bought more than 100 cars each. Another competitor, who has not represented his country, is claimed to have made several hundred thousand pounds in profits.

“He said he was going to stop when he got to a million,” said a source close to the deals.

The chief executive of the team’s sporting association said he was “shocked and surprised” players had been identified.

Two weeks ago, South Yorkshire police arrested six people as part of an investigation into Vat fraud on cars such as Lamborghinis and Maseratis that had been adapted for disabled users. It is believed at least two of those arrested were connected with the paralympic team.

One car dealer claimed the Vat scam had become widespread in the past 18 months. “It spread by word of mouth among the players and once they saw how easy it was, they were all for it,” he said.

An executive from one of the UK’s big car dealerships was suspended earlier this month after it was discovered he was selling cars to the players and buying them back.

On one afternoon, his showroom in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, was visited by four players each buying new cars. “That was £250,000 worth of business in two hours,” claimed a source close to the deal.

One of the same dealership’s showrooms in Lancashire is alleged to have sold 36 new cars to the same man in a year. A number of major dealers across the country are believed to have turned a blind eye to repeated purchases of luxury cars by the same disabled customers.

The players earned between £1,000 and £3,000 on each purchase, which could be just half an hour’s work as the paperwork and financing was often organised for them. They worked with a variety of dealers.

In order to obtain the tax break, a wheel-chair user has to produce evidence of their disability and confirm that the car is being purchased for their own use. The dealer takes a photograph of the interior of the car to show that it has been adapted.

In reality, several of the players were given the cash to buy their cars by middlemen who already had customers for the car. Sometimes the customer was the same showroom that had just sold the car.

Many of the purchases were Range Rovers worth £62,000. These could be bought by a player for £53,000 once the Vat had been deducted. The middlemen would “buy” the car back for perhaps £55,000, leaving the player with a £2,000 profit.

The car would then be bought by a dealership for £57,000 who could sell it on. Although brand new, the car would now be secondhand, which meant it no longer attracted Vat. The dealer could then sell it cheap for £60,000 and still make £3,000 extra profit. The spoils were even greater on some of the more expensive luxury cars such as the Bentley GTC, which can cost more than £145,000 new.

To speed up the throughput, the cars were rarely properly adapted for a handicapped driver. “They would put the hand controls inside the car but not bolt them down. They would take a photograph and then take the controls out again,” claimed the source. “Sometimes they would use the same photograph again and again for different cars.”

The owner of the company that was hired to fit the controls is said to have bought more than 80 cars himself. On Friday he denied making so many purchases but admitted buying a new car every three months.

Five of the players from the current team have instructed a Birmingham lawyer, who is expert in fraud, to advise them on their legal position. Their association has told them not to comment to the media.

A spokeswoman for Revenue and Customs said it is a fraud to buy a car Vat free for “personal use” when it was in fact intended to be sold on.

“There is a wider ongoing inquiry into this which in the first instance is being handled by the police,” she said.

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