Saturday, July 17, 2010   

Criminal ringleader Asif Ali, 40, was jailed for 10 years today for his key role in the laundering of £30m.

The scheme operated across a network of crooked money transfer offices, and is estimated to have netted him a personal profit of £759,000 in six months alone.

The money transfer businesses were largely registered in the names of relatives and employees, but in reality controlled by Ali towards criminal purposes.

Ali falsified business records to mask the illegitimacy of the money, which was being transferred out of the country in vast quantities.

He was arrested outside his home receiving a delivery of £96,000 in cash – piled in a black trash bag – from Ibrahim Patel.

As undercover surveillance had revealed, it was common practice for criminals to deliver these large sums of money to Ali to be laundered.

Upon further investigation into money service businesses in the region, Mohmed Patel was also arrested and jailed today for four years.

The cash seized amounted to over £400,000.

“Organised crime groups will stop at nothing in their bid to build vast portfolios of cash, properties, performance cars and other luxury items at the expense of the taxpayer,” said Peter Millroy, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation for HM Revenue & Customs.

“HMRC’s dedicated teams of investigators will pursue and bring to justice those who attempt to disguise and hide the illegal profits of other criminals.”