Abdul Robbani

Abdul Muttakin Robbani, a 54-year-old man from Chelmsford, UK, was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison at Chelmsford Crown Court on June 23, 2026, for a £700,000 Gift Aid fraud.

Key Facts and Charges:

• Robbani pleaded guilty to one count of cheating the public revenue and three counts of transferring criminal property.
• He registered 'RMI Club' as a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) in December 2019.
• Between March 2020 and May 2021, RMI Club submitted 60 fraudulent Gift Aid claims to HMRC, totaling over £1 million, of which £708,750 was paid out.
• Robbani created the false impression of large donations by circulating money between bank accounts he controlled, using the names of purported donors as payment references. Many individuals listed as donors had no knowledge of RMI Club and had simply completed an online survey for a small payment.
• He used the fraudulently obtained money to pay off significant personal and family debts, including mortgages on two properties in Chelmsford and Ipswich, which were subsequently transferred into his wife's name.
• HMRC investigators initiated an investigation in June 2021, which involved interviewing named donors, obtaining banking records, and analyzing a cryptocurrency scheme ("XO token") created by Robbani, which was found to have no objective value.

Court Decisions and Legal Proceedings:

• On June 23, 2026, Robbani was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison.
• The court also disqualified him from acting as a company director for 15 years and imposed a Serious Crime Prevention Order for five years, to commence upon his release from jail.
• Confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act are ongoing to recover the profits of his criminal activity. HMRC had already obtained an account freezing order and forfeited £215,000, with a further £485,750 traced to Robbani's personal bank account.
• The court noted that Robbani has previous convictions for deception and forgery from the 1990s. In 2011, the Charity Commission removed a charity he chaired from the register due to serious governance failings.