A Ukrainian gang enjoyed a lavish lifestyle of expensive cars and luxury apartments by running a £4.5m tax scam in Brentford.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers raided seven houses in July last year and uncovered a “production line” of fraud, finding hundreds of bank cards in one property, £360,000 in another and seizing a samurai sword and two air guns in a third.

The fraudsters used fake identities to claim tax rebates, setting up bogus companies to appear as employers on the doctored self assessment forms.

It led to 11 gang members being sentenced to a total of 42 years and 10 months at Southwark Crown Court last Friday.

The fraud’s mastermind Volodymyr Panchak, 27, of Town Meadow, Brentford, was jailed for six years and one month.

Peter Millroy, assistant director of criminal investigation for HMRC, said: “This was a calculated criminal plot motivated by greed, which deprived the nation’s public services of millions of pounds.

“We will not stop in our pursuit to bring those involved in this type of criminal activity before the courts and will work tirelessly to recover the proceeds of their crime for the public purse.”

Each member of the gang had specific roles in the fraud. They created thousands of fake identities using false passports and other bogus documents.

They submitted more than 1,600 online self-assessment tax returns for fictitious foreign migrant workers, claiming they had worked in the UK and overpaid income tax.

They also opened about 750 bank accounts to receive the payments and then launder the proceeds, using the money to buy fast cars and rent luxury apartments.

The criminals tried to claim more than £8m in tax returns, but HMRC stopped many of the payments after discovering they were fraudulent.

All 11 gang members pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cheat the public revenue.

Behind bars:

Yuriy Brovarski, 26, of Henfield Road, London, sentenced to five years

Krzsyzstof Damian Giers, 32, of Point Wharf, Brentford, sentenced to four years

Artur Jan Karwicki, 33, of Montague Road, London, sentenced to five years

Olegs Parkov, 35, of Montague Road, London, sentenced to four years and six months

Marek Stanislaw Pic, 25, of Point Wharf, Brentford, sentenced to three years and nine months

Oleg Zdyshchuk, 23, of Point Wharf, Brentford, sentenced to four years

Marek Krinicki, 28, of Tallow Road, Brentford, sentenced to three years

Andrey Klym, 26, of Tallow Road, Brentford, sentenced to 21 months

Artur Nalecki, 31, of Tallow Road, Brentford, sentenced to 21 months

Volodymyr Panchak, 27, of Town Meadow, Brentford, sentenced to six years and one month.

He also pleaded guilty to possession of false identity documents.

Olesya Kovbasa, 28, of Town Meadow, Brentford, sentenced to four years.