Press release -
Wanted tax fugitive jailed for money laundering
A money launderer who fled during his 2018 trial has been extradited from the Netherlands and jailed for five-and-a-half years.
Javed Ahmad was caught trying to stuff more than £100,000 in a filing cabinet when HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers raided his Burnley office in November 2015.
The 50-year-old was convicted and sentenced in his absence for laundering £3.5 million of criminal cash. Two other men were also jailed for a total of six years and three months for their part in the fraud.
The trio were caught on CCTV at multiple branches of the same bank on the same days making deposits below £5,000. In just one day, in November 2015, they made 33 different deposits totalling more than £95,000.
Ahmad was arrested by Dutch police on 8 January 2025 and was extradited back to the UK on Thursday 3 April. He is now starting a five-and-a-half-year sentence.
Nicol Sheppard, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said:
“Ahmad thought he could run from his crimes, but we never stop looking, working tirelessly with our international law enforcement partners to ensure frauds do not go unpunished.
“Money laundering helps fund other serious organised crime and deprives the taxpayer of money needed for public services.
“We will not hesitate to prosecute those involved and I would urge anyone with information about type of tax fraud to report it to HMRC online.”
HMRC officers forced entry into Ahmad's office and recovered £103,250, which has been forfeited. They also discovered deposit slips proving the men had paid in more than £3.5 million to banks across Leyland, Bolton, Burnley, Accrington, Nelson, Preston, and Blackburn.
Between June 2014 and April 2015, the men made 36 deposits and went on to make a further 821 cash deposits in the seven months between May and November 2015.
Notes for Editors
- Broadcast interviews are available on request.
- Javed Ahmad (DOB 10/06/74), previously of Newhall Street, Burnley, was found guilty of money laundering, contrary to sections 327, 328 and 329 of the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002). He was jailed in absence to five-and-a-half years at Burnley Crown Court on 19 December 2018.
- The total value of the money paid in was £3,545,675. The £103,250 discovered during the HMRC raid was forfeited in April 2016.
- Follow HMRC’s press office on X @HMRCpressoffice
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Issued by HM Revenue & Customs Press Office
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is the UK’s tax authority.
HMRC is responsible for making sure that the money is available to fund the UK’s public services and for helping families and individuals with targeted financial support.
