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Back in March poker player Adam Lulat won £68,930 in the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Manchester. This was by far his biggest live tournament win.
But Lulat barely had time to savor these winnings. He was forced to give it all back to the British government.
Lulat it seems was fresh off a jail sentence for a £40 million money laundering scheme in which he served time but only paid back £1 due to a lack of assets, according to The Lancashire Post.
That status changed with the big poker win.
"Lulat thought he’d aced the tournament but we had the better hand in the end," said an HMRC official. "We will not allow tax fraudsters like Lulat to enjoy their winnings until they’ve repaid what they’ve stolen from the taxpayer. HMRC will relentlessly pursue criminals for their ill-gotten gains."
The 26-year-old was convicted in 2015 as part of a ring of scammers with six of those charged jailed for a total of 25 years and 10 months. They were also ordered to pay back £590,000 for the crimes, which occurred between September 2010 and November 2011.
Lulat was ultimately released and is being tracked carefully by government officials.
