The UK Government launched 1,007 prosecutions against individuals for tax evasion offences last year, as it ramped up its crackdown on the underpayment of tax in the UK, according to Thomson Reuters.

HMRC’s ability to investigate and prosecute taxpayers has strengthened recently by data it has received on individuals’ offshore bank accounts from jurisdictions such as Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.

This new data can be used by HMRC when investigating taxpayers and raises the prospect that the number of prosecutions will rise further.

Under the global transparency drive of the Common Reporting Standard...