Four found guilty of £266m money-laundering plot

In what is believed to be the largest money laundering case ever in the UK, four people were convicted for their part in channelling £266 million through Bradford-based company Fowler Oldfield.

Gregory Frankel, 47, Daniel Rawson, 47, Haroon ‘Harry’ Rashid, 54, and Arjun Babber, 32, were found guilty of money laundering following a trial at Leeds Crown Court.

The convictions followed an investigation by West Yorkshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit, which established that vast amounts of bank notes from criminal networks across the country were being laundered under a veil of legitimacy.

Detectives unearthed large amounts of cash being credited to the bank account of Fowler Oldfield collected from three different sites: Fowler Oldfield’s own premises at an industrial-style unit at Hall Lane, Bradford; the offices of Stunt & Company, Leconfield House, Curzon St, London; and Pure Nines, New House, in Hatton Garden, London.

During a trial which lasted 19 weeks, the jury heard how the money would arrive at Fowler Oldfield by the “sack load”.

CCTV footage showed how couriers from as far afield as Glasgow, Manchester and Merseyside would turn up at Hall Lane, Bradford, carrying heavy bags laden with bank notes – and all the proceeds of crime.

At one stage, an average of £1.7 million a day was coming into the premises – all in cash and contained in sports bags, carrier bags, ‘bags for life’, gift-wrapped toy boxes and even take-away food containers.

It was counted on professional money counting machines and collected by legitimate cash-in-transit companies to deposit into a bank.

The money was largely used to buy gold grain, which is untraceable and easier to conceal than bullion. Much of this gold is then believed to have been taken out of the UK.

West Yorkshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit was alerted in 2016 when a cash-in-transit company raised concerns about the huge increase in cash being collected from Fowler Oldfield.

Fowler Oldfield’s legitimate business would involve the purchase of scrap jewellery, including gold, in return for cash. However, the business model dramatically changed to receiving and processing cash on a large scale.

The investigation by West Yorkshire Police involved the forensic analysis of invoices, emails and paperwork as well as studying more than 8,000 hours of CCTV footage. It was calculated that more than £266 million was paid into the Fowler Oldfield accounts from January 2014 to September 2016.

Investigators carried out surveillance on the property and discovered criminal cash was arriving to be counted and banked.

The West Yorkshire Police probe found that from 2014 onwards, Fowler Oldfield saw a “substantial increase” in the amount of cash paid into its accounts.

The cash coming into the company increased from just over £11,000 in 2012 to more than £650,000 a year later. By 2015, payments into the long-established Bradford company grew substantially – with £95 million coming in.

At times the amount of cash being banked by the company in one day was said to be similar to sums banked by a Premier League football club following a big match, said West Yorkshire Police.

Couriers were given a token, such as a dollar bill or £5 note and a password to identify themselves and for proof of delivery.

During the trial, the jury saw CCTV footage of the cash being checked by a security expert for bugging or tracking devices.

Investigations found that between August 2 and September 1, 2016, an average of more than £1.7 million in cash came into the Fowler Oldfield offices every day – the records maintained by the business were in the form of simple ledgers with variations in cash counts left unexplained or challenged. Communications across the money laundering network took place through encrypted chat platforms.

When officers executed a search warrant at Fowler Oldfield’s Bradford premises in September 2016, more than £2.1million was seized.

West Yorkshire Police said no one has ever come forward to claim any of the cash belongs to them.

Speaking after the verdicts, Assistant Chief Constable Pat Twiggs of West Yorkshire Police said: “This was a sophisticated operation designed to launder a substantial amount of money connected to criminal activity in a number of regions across the UK.”

“I have no doubt whatsoever that this cash is linked to organised crime activity, including drugs and wider criminality and I am pleased that we successfully demonstrated that to the court.

“By doing so we have uncovered a wider network of criminality and managed to cause significant disruption to their activities.

“At no point during our investigation did anyone come forward to claim any of the money that we seized.

“This kind of activity, while appearing to be detached from the impact caused to our communities by drugs and violence, was a key process in camouflaging the ill-gotten gains of organised crime by attempting to make it appear legitimate and ultimately these funds are further used for illicit purposes.

“But the truth is that these people, some of whom lived very lavish lifestyles, all profited from the misery caused by drugs and organised crime.

“The outcome of this court case demonstrates we have the capability to attack and disrupt large-scale criminal interests and prove their underlying criminality however legitimate they claim to be.

“This complex and detailed investigation undertaken by the West Yorkshire Police Economic Crime Unit, has taken over eight years to reach this point and I am pleased the diligence and tremendous determination our officers and staff, together with partner agencies, has achieved this result.

“Nobody is beyond the reach of the law.”

Hannah Von Dadelszen of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said: “This case is one of the largest money laundering prosecutions ever brought to the courts in England and Wales. It involved a colossal quantity of cash, undoubtedly derived from criminal activity.  These defendants were at the heart of the operation to launder and legitimise the dirty cash, bringing it into the banking system.

“Criminal justice enforcement, involving a number of agencies, have sent an important message out about the wholesale laundering of criminal proceeds. We have already seen the successful prosecution of 12 cash couriers who were bringing large bundles of criminal cash into Fowler Oldfield. Their convictions will hopefully deter them and others from becoming involved in the same way, in the future.

“The Financial Conduct Authority brought proceedings against the NatWest Bank for breaching money-laundering regulations, reinforcing the need for compliance controls in the financial sector. After a detailed and comprehensive investigation by West Yorkshire Police, the CPS Serious Economic, Organised Crime and International Directorate have successfully prosecuted these individuals who were the prime organisers in the laundering process.

“We will now make every effort to ensure that they do not enjoy the fruits of their criminal activity, pursuing confiscation proceedings against them.”