It has always been possible to enjoy the comedy aspect to the tale of Kristo Käärmann of Wise and his unpaid tax bill. Here was a near-billionaire co-founder and chief executive of a slick payments company who was apparently too disorganised to respond to HMRC’s reminders, to the point where he copped a £366,000 penalty and got himself publicly identified.
If the board was ever even vaguely amused, it’s not now. It takes matters “very seriously”, said the chair, David Wells. You bet: the Financial Conduct Authority has opened an investigation, which, at the regulator’s usual pace of inquiry, will ensure we’ll still talking about Käärmann’s 2017-18 tax demand in 2023.
