bodylice, while I can see you are annoyed you need to put it in perspective.
With their crime they got away with perhaps a couple of hundred thousand pounds at the most.
This guy committed VAT fraud and stole 51 MILLION pounds from the UK government.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,221 9465,00.html
It is felt that VAT fraud costs the country FIVE BILLION pounds a year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1 877248,00.html
This sort of carousel VAT fraud involves importing small items like mobile phone or computer chips and claiming the VAT from the UK government.
The items are then secretly exported again, then RE_IMPORTED, again claiming the VAT back.
The same Items go round and round, hence the name carousel, and VAT is claimed each time.
While this couple deserve all they get, they are small beer compared to some of the massive fraud going on.