Quartet jailed in wake of £266 million money laundering operation

A detailed and comprehensive West Yorkshire Police investigation into the activities of these defendants unearthed large amounts of unexplained cash passing through businesses. The cash was credited to the bank account of Fowler Oldfield after being collected from three different sites: Fowler Oldfield’s own premises at an industrial-style unit at Hall Lane in Bradford, the offices of Stunt & Co at Leconfield House, Curzon Street in London and Pure Nines, New House in London’s Hatton Garden.

The cash was brought into business addresses owned or managed by these defendants. It was delivered by cash couriers in sports bags, carrier bags and holdalls full of hundreds of thousands of pounds at a time, all of which was paid into the bank account of Fowler Oldfield.

The prosecution case established that this cash represented criminal property and Fowler Oldfield was being used as the vehicle to launder the dirty cash.

The cash was counted on the premises by staff using specialist counting machines such as those used in banks. The money was then bundled together for collection by G4S or the Post Office, who then delivered it to the NatWest Bank to be deposited into Fowler Oldfield’s bank account.

Colossal amount of cash 

Hannah Von Dadelszen of the Crown Prosecution Service 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.”

Von Dadelszen added: “These four men were at the heart of the operation to launder and legitimise the dirty cash, bringing it into the banking system. Justice has been served against them in these sentences.”

Further, Von Dadelszen noted: “Criminal justice enforcement, involving a number of agencies, has 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 sort of actions in the future.”

In addition, Von Dadelszen stated: “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 Crown Prosecution Service’s Serious Economic, Organised Crime and International Directorate has successfully prosecuted these individuals who were the prime organisers in the laundering process.”

The Crown Prosecution Service will now make every effort to ensure that these men do not enjoy the fruits of their criminal activity, pursuing confiscation proceedings against them.

Von Dadelszen concluded: “The Crown Prosecution Service is committed to continuing to work closely with law enforcement and the investigatory authorities to bring individuals and companies engaged in money laundering from serious organised criminals to justice.”

Sophisticated operation

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’m also pleased that we successfully demonstrated that to the court.”

Twiggs continued: “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.”

Additionally, Twiggs stated: “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. The truth is that these people, some of whom lived very lavish lifestyles, all profited from the misery caused by drugs and gangs. West Yorkshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit is dedicated to the protection of vulnerable people from the activities of criminals.” 

According to Twiggs, the outcome of this court case demonstrates that there is 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 has taken over eight years to reach this point,” concluded Twiggs. “I’m pleased about how the diligence and tremendous determination of our officers, together with partner agencies, has achieved this result. Nobody is beyond the reach of the law.”