Gang jailed for laundering £26m

A gang that sent £26 million of dirty money to Dubai after depositing criminal cash at banks a dozen times a day for nearly a year have been jailed for more than 26 years.

The men, led by Mohammed Zafer, travelled hundreds of miles to collect and deposit criminal cash at 100 banks from a base in Buckinghamshire.

They each acted as directors of seven different companies that were set up purely to launder money that’s believed to have been generated by alcohol duty fraud.

The gang created a false paperwork trail in a bid to legitimise the huge sums that was picked up by a network of cash couriers in just 11 months.

A staggering 2,376 deposits were made at more than 100 banks across 193 days between July 2015 and June 2016 – which averages at 12 deposits every single day.

Once the money was inside the UK banking system it was quickly transferred out of the jurisdiction and into banks in Dubai, where Mohammed Zafer had business interests.

Mohammed Zafer, 48, of Slough, and his cousin, Shehbaz Iqbal, 41, of Windsor, were convicted of money laundering offences, after a six-week trial at Reading Crown Court, which ended in December, 2023.

Four other men; Sarfraz Hussain, 45, of Manchester, Anthony Foster, 41, and Shakil Abbas, 37, both of Rochdale; along with Zorrabar Singh, 36, of Twickenham, admitted money laundering offences at Reading Crown Court in June 2022.

Matthew Moignard, Operational Lead, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said:

“These sentences reflect the industrial scale of this criminal operation, which was led by Mohammed Zafer.

“Money laundering is not a victimless crime. It robs our public services of much needed money and it funds other organised criminality that harms our communities.

“We are on the side of the law-abiding majority and will investigate anyone suspected of tax fraud and laundering the proceeds of crime.

“Anyone with information about any type of tax fraud can contact HMRC online.”

Kevin Hansford from the CPS Serious Economic Organised Crime and International Directorate (SEOCID) said:

“These defendants used overseas bank accounts to transfer vast quantities of dirty money out of the UK and in doing so undermined the UK economy.

“Whenever our legal test is met, the CPS will always prosecute fraudsters such as those in this group and ensure they are held publicly accountable.

“In some cases we can go further with our Proceeds of Crime team recovering criminal assets so offenders do not financially benefit from their crimes.”

All six were sentenced to a total of 26 years and seven months yesterday, (February 21, 2024).

Action to recover the money has been launched.

Notes to Editors

1. Mohammed Zafer, DOB 27/03/1975, of Dashwood Close, Slough, was sentenced to 12 years for entering into, concerned in acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property (recordable) contrary to sections 328 (1) and 334 of the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002).
2. Shehbaz Iqbal, DOB 02/10/1982, of Westmead, Windsor, was sentenced to three years for entering into, concerned in acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property (recordable) contrary to sections 328 (1) and 334 of the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002).
3. Sarfraz Hussain, DOB 06/12/1978, of Grove Street, Manchester, was sentenced four years and nine months for entering into, concerned in acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property (recordable) contrary to sections 328 (1) and 334 of the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002).
4. Shakil Abbas DOB 04/12/1986, of Yarrow Close, Rochdale, was sentenced to a two-year prison sentence, suspended for 18 months for entering into, concerned in acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property (recordable) contrary to sections 328 (1) and 334 of the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002).
5. Zorrabar Singh DOB 28/07/1987 of Ross Road, Twickenham, was sentenced to two years and 10 months for entering into, concerned in acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property (recordable) contrary to sections 328 (1) and 334 of the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002).
6. Anthony Foster DOB 24/08/1982, of Westgate, Wallbank, Rochdale, was sentenced to a two-year prison sentence, suspended for 18 months for entering into, concerned in acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property (recordable) contrary to sections 328 (1) and 334 of the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002).
7. Broadcast interviews with a HMRC spokesperson are available on request.
8. Kevin Hansford is a Unit Head in the CPS Serious Economic Organised Crime and International Directorate (SEOCID).
9. In the last five years (2018 to 2023), more than £480 million has been recovered from CPS obtained Confiscation Orders, ensuring that thousands of convicted criminals cannot profit from their offending. Of this amount, £105m has been returned to victims of crime by way of compensation.
10. In the year ending March 2023 the CPS prosecuted 6,284 defendants, where fraud was the principal offence, with the conviction rate being 84%.
11. You can find out more about HMRC's approach to tax fraud at gov.uk
12. Follow HMRC’s Press Office on Twitter @HMRCpressoffice