A former nurse from London who was jailed for tax fraud and money laundering offences has been ordered to pay back £500,000 within six months, or serve a further four years in jail.

Joy Agwuegbo was jailed for three years in July 2011, and she is now being made to pay back the money, after a confiscation hearing at Kingston Crown Court.

Gary Forbes, Acting Assistant Director, Criminal Taxes Unit, HMRC, said: “This is another example of our determination and success in not only bringing to justice criminals like Agwuegbo, but ensuring that they do not profit in any way from their crimes.”

HMRC investigators, working with the Metropolitan Police, proved that Agwuegbo had assets worth £1.1m, including £730,000 equity held in six London properties. Some £38,000 in cash seized at the time of her arrest was forfeited under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in 2012.

An investigation by HMRC’s Criminal Taxes Unit revealed that Agwuegbo failed to declare £167,000 received from renting out five properties in South East London and that she fraudulently claimed £101,000 in tax credits. With others, Agwuegbo also operated an illegal money lending business worth more than £800,000.