Three men have been jailed for offences in relation to more than £5m of Gift Aid fraud.

HM Revenue & Customs have announced John Davies, 58, and Olsi Vullnetari, 37 claimed they were trustees and associates of two charities, the Sompan Foundation and the Kurbet Foundation in order to fraudulently claim Gift Aid.

The pair were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Friday, and jailed for a total of 19 years between them. John Davies’ son, Ben Davies, 31, was also jailed for money laundering associated with the Gift Aid fraud.

Both charities had been legitimately established to support women and children in crisis and poverty around the world, HMRC said, but the fraudsters took the death of the charities’ original founder as an opportunity to make money from the organisations illegally.

HMRC said John Davies and Vullnetari submitted tens of thousands of Gift Aid repayment claims between 2007 and 2012 based on seemingly real donations.

However, it emerged every donation had been faked, with the men using the names and addresses of real people, including some who had passed away, to claim the Gift Aid.

The men produced false paperwork to support the Gift Aid claims, HMRC said, and the proceeds of the fraud were laundered through various bank accounts. Accounts in Hungary, the Netherlands, Thailand, South Africa, America, the UAE and Ireland were used to launder the money. A separate Hungary-based charity, The Tosk Foundation, set up by John Davies was also used to launder funds.

All three men were arrested between May 2013 and June 2015. John Davies and Vullnetari were found guilty of all charges on 8 April 2016, HMRC said. Benjamin Davies was found guilty of one count of money laundering on the same date.

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