Former Inland Revenue employee, David Michael Hughes, known as Mike Hughes, 55, from Kent, was jailed for nine-and-a-half years in August 2018.

While posing as a legitimate payroll service provider, he led a conspiracy which used a string of UK and offshore companies and bank accounts to steal millions in taxes paid by clients and deducted from workers’ wages, through fraudulent payroll schemes.

Instead of paying HMRC the cash was split between Hughes and his co-conspirators.

Southwark Crown Court has now ordered Hughes to pay £1.7m within three months or face a further four years in jail and still owe the money.

A Serious Crime Prevention Order will be issued against Hughes for three years when he leaves prison, which will require him to comply with specific terms and conditions relating to his finances. If he breaches the order, he could be prosecuted and jailed.

Susie White, Operational Lead, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “Hughes abused a system which is supposed to ensure workers are paid correctly and taxes go to HMRC – instead he pocketed millions.

“Our actions don’t stop once someone is convicted, we will look to reclaim the stolen money.”

Hughes left the UK in September 2011 and travelled to Chile and Dubai before living in Northern Cyprus, which does not have an extradition treaty with the UK.

He was arrested by HMRC investigators at Heathrow Airport in January 2018 when he arrived on a flight from Istanbul, Turkey.

At Southwark Crown Court in August 2018, Hughes was convicted of three counts of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue, two counts of false accounting and providing false information, and one count of money laundering.

He was jailed for nine-and-a-half years. Three other men were jailed for a total of 19 years in October 2016.

HMRC has already secured confiscation orders totalling £3.5 million in January 2018 from two of his co-conspirators.