An internationally-ranked chess player who stole more than £750,000 through tax and mortgage fraud has been jailed for 10 years.

Tax agent Robin Moss, formerly of Melton Mowbray, was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court in his absence on 9 October. 

An international arrest warrant has been issued through Interpol, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said in a statement. 

Moss, formerly from Leicestershire but now of Skórzewo, Poznan, Poland, persuaded one client to pay their £53,000 tax bill through him but paid it straight into his bank account rather than to HMRC.

He spent more than £115,000 on collectible pottery, £89,000 on gold coins and just under £19,000 on jewellery.

The jury heard how he lied about his income and made bogus claims in the names of unsuspecting clients. Moss also provided false documents that were used in fraudulent mortgage applications.

Moss's wife, Liliana, admitted a £115,000 money-laundering charge, in which she received a seven-month prison sentence suspended for a year.

Another collaborator, Rajvir Sahota, also admitted mortgage fraud, using false documents supplied by Moss, and was sentenced to six months in prison after pleading guilty.

Nick Stone, operational lead in HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service, said: "Robin Moss abused his position of trust to steal from clients and the taxpayer.

"Tax fraud is never a victimless crime and the eye-watering sums he spent on pottery and gold should have been funding the public services we all rely on."