John Downes jailed for €160k VAT fraud

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

John Downes was jailed for two years for VAT fraud at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, reported on 6 December 2019. He pleaded guilty to claiming VAT repayments his company was not entitled to and producing incorrect invoices between 2007 and 2011.

The fraud involved false invoices and VAT charged to customers but not passed to Revenue. The court noted Downes's guilty plea, co-operation, work history and community contributions before imposing the sentence.