A most-wanted list of 20 alleged tax-dodgers accused of fleeing the UK while owing the Treasury millions has been issued in an appeal for help to track them down.

Names and pictures of the fugitives have been published by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for the first time. They include Hussain Chohan, 44, believed to be in Dubai, who was convicted at Birmingham crown court for his role in a £200m fraud, part of which involved importing 2.25 tonnes of tobacco worth £750,000 in duty. Chohan was given 11 years for smuggling and fraud offences and for failing to appear in court. He is also subject to a £33m confiscation order.

Wayne Joseph Hardy, 49, believed to be in South Africa, was convicted at Ipswich crown court for costing the taxpayer an estimated £1.9m by manufacturing tobacco products and not paying duty. He was given a three-year sentence in October 2011.

Nasser Ahmed, 40, was sentenced to six years at Bristol crown court in 2005 for his part in VAT fraud worth £156m, but fled before verdicts were given and is thought to be in Pakistan or Dubai. He was convicted and sentenced in his absence.

Gordon Arthur, 60, believed to be in the US, is suspected of illegally importing cigarettes and alcohol and failing to pay about £15m in duty. He fled in 2000 and a warrant was issued for his arrest at Maidstone crown court in 2002.

Zafar Baidar Chisthi, 33, now believed to be in Pakistan, is wanted over another VAT fraud worth £150m. He fled while on bail and was jailed for 11 years in his absence at Kingston crown court for conspiracy to defraud the public purse.

The three are among 20 people whose pictures and details will be posted at 9am on Thursday on HMRC's Flickr page.

Treasury minister David Gauke said: "These criminals have collectively cost the taxpayer over £765m and HMRC will pursue them relentlessly. We hope that publishing their pictures in this way will enable members of the public to contribute to the effort to catch them."

The top 20 most-wanted tax fugitives

• Hussain Asad Chohan, 44, believed to be in Dubai. He was convicted at Birmingham crown court in his absence and sentenced to 11 years for his part in fraud worth about £200m, which included importing 2.25 tonnes of tobacco worth £750,000 in duty. Chohan has also been served with a £33m confiscation order.

• Nasser Ahmed, 40, believed to be in Pakistan or Dubai, was convicted at Bristol crown court in 2005 for his role in VAT fraud worth £156m. He fled before verdicts were given, and was convicted and sentenced to six years in prison in his absence.

• Zafar Baidar Chisthi, 33, thought to be in Pakistan, was found guilty at Kingston crown court for his part in VAT fraud worth about £150m. He was sentenced to 11 years for conspiracy to defraud the public purse and one year for perverting the course of justice.

• Darsim Abdullah, 42, believed to be in Iraq, was convicted at Guildford crown court for being part of a money laundering gang that processed £1m-£4m per month. Eleven other members of the gang were convicted or pleaded guilty, but he ran away before sentencing.

• Leigang Liang, 38, believed to be in the UK, was convicted at Lewes crown court for illegally importing tobacco from China. He was sentenced in his absence to seven years. The estimated cost to the taxpayer of the scam was £2.6m.

• Olutayo Owolabi, 40, believed to be in the UK, was convicted in January 2010 for 27 charges linked to tax credits and money-laundering and sentenced in his absence to nine months in jail. The estimated cost to the taxpayer was £1m.

• Wayne Joseph Hardy, 49, now believed to be in South Africa, was convicted at Ipswich crown court for manufacturing tobacco products and not paying duty. He was given three-year sentence in October 2011. The estimated cost to the taxpayer was £1.9m.

• Adam Umerji, aka Shafiq Patel, 34, thought to be in Dubai, was jailed at Liverpool crown court for 12 years for VAT fraud and money-laundering. The cost to the taxpayer was £64m.

• Gordon Arthur, 60, believed to be in the US, suspected of illegally importing cigarettes and alcohol and failing to pay £15m in duty. He fled in 2000 and a warrant was issued for his arrest at Maidstone crown court in 2002.

• Emma Elizabeth Tazey, 38, also believed to be in the US, is wanted in connection with the same allegations.

• John Nugent, 53, thought to be in the US, was accused of putting in fraudulent claims for duty and VAT worth more than £22m. A warrant for his arrest was issued at Manchester crown court.

• Malcolm McGregor McGowan, 60, believed to be in Spain, was found guilty at Sheffield crown court in December 2011 of illegally importing cigarettes worth £16m into the UK, and was sentenced to four years.

• Timur Mehmet, 39, believed to be in Cyprus, is wanted over a £25m VAT fraud. He was found guilty in absence and sentenced to eight years at Northampton crown court.

• Vladimir Jeriomin, 34, thought to be in Russia or Lithuania, was part of a gang that made false claims for tax repayments. The estimated cost to the taxpayer was £4.8m. A warrant was issued for his arrest at Liverpool crown court.

• Cesare Selvini, 52, thought to be in Switzerland, is wanted for smuggling platinum bars worth about £600,000. A warrant was issued for his arrest at Dover magistrates court in 2005.

• Dimitri Gaskov, 27, thought to be in Estonia, allegedly smuggled 3mcigarettes into the UK using desktop computers. He fled before trial and an arrest warrant was issued at Ipswich crown court.

• Mohamed Sami Kaak, 45, thought to be in Tunisia, is wanted for smuggling millions of cigarettes into the UK between March 2005 and September 2006 and evading £822,000 in duty. He was convicted in his absence at Isleworth crown court and jailed for four years.

• Rory Martin McGann, 43, believed to be in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland, is wanted for alleged VAT fraud worth more than £902,000. He was arrested in November 2008 but later fled.

• Yehuda Cohen, 35, thought to be in Israel, is wanted over VAT fraud worth about £800,000. He was arrested at Heathrow airport in March 2011 but later fled while on bail.

• Sahil Jain, 30, believed to be in the UK, was arrested over alleged VAT fraud worth £328,000 but failed to appear at the Old Bailey and a warrant was issued for his arrest on 8 June.