Global money laundering gang jailed

A gang who used an online money transfer business to launder almost £50 million of criminal profits has been jailed following an international investigation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Tanveer Hussain Jaffery, 61, and Naveed Ahmad, 45, both of Stoke-on-Trent, were the ringleaders of a group of criminals who ran a business called R2PK.com as a front to launder millions of pounds.

As part of the operation, coded serial number-based text messages were sent by criminals based all over the UK to tell couriers where and when to collect the ‘dirty’ money and deposit it into different branches of UK banks in amounts of £25,000 or less.

This process, known to law enforcement officials as smurfing, allowed the gang to stay below the radar prior to the investigation. The offences took place between 1 May 2007 and 30 September 2008 and resulted in the laundering of £48.6 million.

It is understood that the online money transfer business was used to clean up huge amounts of criminal cash that was sent to Dubai and then to Pakistan.

Peter Millroy, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation for HMRC, said: "Money launderers such as these are as much a part of the criminal underworld as the fraudsters whose cash they clean.

“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.”

Source: GT