A husband and wife who ran a number of newsagents in Dundee defrauded the HMRC of more than £1m for 17 years.

Mohammed Arshid, 61, and Maqsoodan Arshid, 57, of Broughty Ferry, submitted false information to tax authorities about their business, Nethergate Newsagents Ltd.

The pair have now been banned from acting as company directors, for 11 years and two years respectively, after an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

The inquiry found Mr Arshid had breached his duty as a director by submitting false information to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) resulting in £1,020,423 lost revenue on PAYE Tax, NIC, VAT and Corporation Tax.

His wife, Mrs Arshid, was disqualified for failing in her duties by allowing Mr Arshid the freedom to commit the offence, which they both personally benefited from.

The couple were both directors of the company, which was placed into compulsory liquidation with debts of £1,044,973 on July 17, 2014, on the petition of HMRC.

The liquidation of Nethergate Newsagents took place after HMRC conducted a five-year investigation during which established that Mohammed Arshid caused the company to under-declare and conceal liabilities.

The investigation found that for 17 years, between tax years 1996/1997 and 2012/2013, Mr Arshid concealed liabilities owed to HMRC for PAYE Tax and NIC through submitting false P35 End of Year Returns resulting in lost revenue of £525,454.

For a period of 64 VAT quarters between February 1997 and November 2102, he concealed liabilities owed to HMRC for VAT through concealing sales resulting in lost revenue of £170,182.

In addition, over three consecutive financial years between 30 November 2005 and 30 November 2007 he submitted incorrect company tax returns, and in the following 6 years to November 30, 2013, he understated the company's sales resulting in lost revenue of £221,282.

Investigators said, by Mr and Mrs Arshid's own admission, the cash misappropriations, from the company allowed them and their family members to achieve personal gain including home improvements, private education and topping-up of employee wages.

Robert Clarke, group leader for Insolvent Investigations North, said: "Directors who put their own personal financial interests above those of customers and creditors damage confidence in doing business and are corrosive to the health of the local economy.

"These bans should serve as a warning to other directors tempted to help themselves first; you have a duty to your creditors and if you neglect this duty you could be investigated by the Insolvency Service and removed from the business environment."