Gascoyne appointment follows retirement of Richard Las

Zoe Gascoyne has taken over as director of the Fraud Investigation Service at HM Revenue and Customs, becoming the first woman to hold this position.

Gascoyne, who previously led offshore corporate and wealth operations at the Fraud Investigation Service, will also be the first female chief of the J5 (Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement), which brings together tax fraud enforcement organisations from Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the UK and the US.

Her appointment follows the retirement of Richard Las, who worked for HMRC for more than 30 years.