Music producer fraudster is caught on the best way to daughter’s marriage ceremony

A music producer fraudster was apprehended after over a decade on the run when he returned to the UK for his daughter’s wedding. 

Stephen Pigott, 61, who was a well-known songwriter and record producer, had worked with a star-studded roster, including Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, and the Pet Shop Boys. 

But when the crook was jailed for leading a £40 million tax scam, involving other music industry bosses, he disappeared – still owing HMRC over a million pounds. 

However a new court ruling unearthed that he had been living abroad under a fake name and was only captured when he visited the UK for his daughter’s wedding, The Times reports.

Pigott was first sent to prison in 2005 after confessing to money laundering and dodging tax payments in an elaborate scheme where he purchased mobile phones VAT-free in the EU before flogging them in the UK. 

He carried out this plot, recruiting music industry lawyer Stacey Haber-Hofberg, and record label founders, Theresa Igbanugo and Joanna Harris, whilst not handing a dime over to HM Revenue & Customs, according to the Times.

In a similar scheme told in Frederick Forsyth’s The Day Of The Jackal, Pigott submitted a request for a passport using the name of a dead child who shared his birthday.

With his fake identity he set up ‘clone’ companies in Hong Kong, which came across as lawful British telephone businesses. 

According to the publication, Pigott was discovered to have made £27.3 million from the plot, where he and his crew enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, sipping on luxury wine, driving high-priced cars, and illustrious hotel stays. 

Despite reportedly raking in an exorbitant amount, a 2007 hearing determined his assets, which included, houses, cars, amounted to £1.54. 

It was also found he had assets hidden abroad to the tune of £1 million, The Times reports.

Pigott, who wrote 1987 hit Living In A Box, was previously warned that if he didn’t repay the £1.54 million, he would be handed another ten years in jail. 

However, this was later lessened to eight years following an appeal two years later. 

But shortly after the sentence was reduced, he fled, abandoning his wife and their two daughters in their family mansion in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.  

A new court ruling has since unveiled that he was detained after coming back to the UK for his daughter’s 2019 nuptials, where he was stopped by authorities in connection to an unrelated incident. 

According to the publication, he alleged that he had travelled to Spain because one of his children had ‘gone missing’. 

He then claimed that she was quickly discovered, so he made his way to Berlin, before heating to Hong Kong, the Middle East, Australia and finally setting up base in Thailand.

During his time as a fugitive, he alleged that he was appointed as a co-manager of a web design company with bases in Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Sydney. 

Pigott also continues to be paid £15,000 a year in royalties for his work as a record producer and songwriter. 

In an application for a ‘certificate of inadequacy’ given to the High Court in London, the former songwriter represented himself, The Times reports.

An approved certificate of inadequacy means Pigott would not be responsible for repaying the remainder of the money he owes.

In the application, he said it was ‘a paradoxical quandary’ as he insisted he was locked up for not handing over cash which he did not have, the publication said.

He also alleged he never had £1 million of hidden overseas and that all of his assets had been discarded 15 years ago.

His application was dismissed by Mr Justice Sweeting, who said: ‘What exactly became of the large sums which undoubtedly came his way as a result of the fraud remains opaque.’

Pigott is currently serving the remainder of his prison sentence.