Calderdale oil fraudster ordered to pay £520,000 or face more jail time

A jailed Calderdale oil dealer must repay almost £520,000 or face five more years in prison.
Illegal fuel laundering plantIllegal fuel laundering plant
Illegal fuel laundering plant

Anthony Knight, of Sowerby Bridge, was jailed for three and a half years in July 2018, after HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) discovered he was operating an illegal fuel laundering plant.

Read More
Tragedy on the M62 after two men die in separate police incidents

The 61-year-old must now pay back £519,749 within three months or face five more years behind bars and still owe the money.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Knight was caught when officers visited his business, Manor Oil Company Ltd, on Buckstones Road, Oldham, in August 2016, and found the laundering plant in an outbuilding.

Storage tanks, equipment and 2,500 litres of red diesel were seized from the unit. Officers also found 24 tonnes of silica gel, which is used to strip the government markers from the diesel. A forensic expert estimated the silica gel would be able to launder approximately one million litres of red diesel.

He was sentenced to three and a half years in jail at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on 4 July 2018. He was also disqualified from being a company director for five years.

At the same court, on 26 April 2019, Knight was ordered to repay £519,749 he made from his crimes within three months.

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news and breaking incidents in Halifax - join our dedicated Facebook group here.