The amount of tax recovered from big-ticket tax avoidance, evasion and fraud by the UK’s HM Revenue and Custom’s team of specialist investigators has shot up by almost a quarter (23 per cent) in the last year, according to Pinsent Masons, the international law firm.

The amount of tax recovered from big-ticket tax avoidance, evasion and fraud by the UK’s HM Revenue and Custom’s team of specialist investigators has shot up by almost a quarter (23 per cent) in the last year, according to Pinsent Masons, the international law firm.

Pinsent Masons said in a statement that the compliance yield from HMRC’s specialist Investigations team hit £3.65 billion ($5.78 billion) in 2013/14, up from £2.97 billion in 2012/13, making it the division’s most successful year to date.

The firm pointed out that this sum alone is equivalent to 10 per cent of the estimated £34 billion UK tax gap.

Paul Noble, tax director at Pinsent Masons said the figures should be a “massive jolt” to anyone with undisclosed or outstanding tax liabilities that have given them significant savings.

“HMRC is not only better equipped than ever before to chase down those it suspects of unfairly avoiding their fair share of tax, it’s also far more uncompromising in how it conducts its investigations and far more hard-nosed when it comes to settling cases,” said Noble.

“This increased investigatory capacity comes with a raft of other headline-hitting new HMRC powers, such as more criminal sanctions for offshore bank account holders and new accelerated payment measures,” added Noble.