Close X
Saturday, November 23, 2024
ADVT 
International

12 Indian-origin men, women convicted of money laundering in UK

Darpan News Desk IANS, 10 May, 2023 02:11 PM
  • 12 Indian-origin men, women convicted of money laundering in UK

London, May 10 (IANS) Sixteen people, including several men and women of Indian descent, have been convicted after a major investigation into a West London-based organised crime group involved in international money laundering and human smuggling, UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

Members of the network smuggled in excess of GBP 42 million in cash out of the UK, making hundreds of trips to Dubai and the UAE between 2017 and 2019.

According to NCA investigations, the money was profit from the sale of class A drugs and organised immigration crime.

"This has been a long and complex investigation into an organised crime group involved in money laundering on a commercial scale and organised immigration crime. Over a two-year period, working together with partners in the UK and abroad, NCA investigators were able to uncover the evidence to secure these convictions," NCA senior investigating officer Chris Hill said.

Around GBP 1.5 million was seized from couriers leaving the UK but flight analysis, evidence from cash declarations in Dubai, and other material seized by the NCA showed the group had succeeded in transporting far more.

In November 2019, following weeks of surveillance, communications and flight data analysis, officers moved in to make arrests, and those charged were prosecuted in two trials at Croydon Crown Court, starting in January 2023.

Gang ringleader Charan Singh, 44, from Hounslow, was among those detained in a series of early morning raids across west London.

Along with Singh, Valjeet Singh, Jasbir Singh Kapoor, Jasbir Singh Dhal were found guilty of conspiring to remove criminal property or money laundering.

Swander Singh Dhal was found guilty of conspiring to remove criminal property and also conspiring to facilitate a breach of immigration law, and Diljan Singh Malhotra was found guilty of conspiring to facilitate a breach of immigration law.

Amarjeet Alabadis, Jaginder Kapoor, Jackdar Kapoor, Manmon Singh Kapur, Pinky Kapur and Jasbeer Singh Malhotra were convicted of removing criminal property.

All 16 convicted are due to be sentenced in a hearing starting September 11, 2023, including two individuals who entered guilty pleas for money laundering offences prior to the two trials.

As part of the investigation NCA officers also uncovered a plot involving members of the organised crime group to smuggle 17 migrants, including five children and a pregnant woman, into the UK in the back of a van carrying tyres in 2019.

The van was intercepted by Dutch police, who were working with the NCA, before it could reach a ferry at the Hook of Holland.

"This case demonstrates the continued commitment by the NCA to protect the public and target the criminal networks involved in both people smuggling and money laundering. We will continue to use the full range of tactics at our disposal to disrupt and dismantle them," Hill said in a statement.

MORE International ARTICLES

Fresh turmoil looms in Pak as Imran's arrest sparks countrywide protests

Fresh turmoil looms in Pak as Imran's arrest sparks countrywide protests
Khan's arrest came a day after the military warned him against making "baseless allegations" after he again accused a senior army officer of plotting to kill him, The Express Tribune reported.

Fresh turmoil looms in Pak as Imran's arrest sparks countrywide protests

Indian-American doctor indicted for sexually assaulting patients

Indian-American doctor indicted for sexually assaulting patients
Rajesh Motibhai Patel, 68, was indicted last week on multiple counts of violating his patients' constitutional right to bodily integrity while acting under colour of law and for engaging in unwanted sexual contact, a Department of Justice release said. 

Indian-American doctor indicted for sexually assaulting patients

A COVID legacy? When doctors say we should still be masking up

A COVID legacy? When doctors say we should still be masking up
Although WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted Friday's declaration "does not mean COVID-19 is over," many people will likely interpret it that way, said Dr. Allison McGeer, infectious diseases specialist and microbiologist at Sinai Health Systems in Toronto.

A COVID legacy? When doctors say we should still be masking up

Drunk Indian-origin driver kills 2 teenagers in US car crash

Drunk Indian-origin driver kills 2 teenagers in US car crash
Amandeep Singh, 34, was driving his 2019 Dodge Ram south in the northbound lanes on North Broadway in Jericho on Wednesday when he smashed into a 2019 Alfa Romeo four-door sedan with four male teens inside.  While two teens -- identified as Drew Hassenbein and Ethan Falkowitz -- were pronounced dead at the scene, the other two, aged 16 and 17, were taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries.

Drunk Indian-origin driver kills 2 teenagers in US car crash

Indian-origin man accused of murdering two men in US parking lot

Indian-origin man accused of murdering two men in US parking lot
Jobanpreet Singh, 21, was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on two counts of murder in the first degree on Thursday, the Portland Police Bureau said. Portland police are yet to publicly identify the two men who died. 

Indian-origin man accused of murdering two men in US parking lot

COVID19 no longer a global health emergency: WHO

COVID19 no longer a global health emergency: WHO
But even though the emergency phase is over, he's emphatic the pandemic hasn't ended, noting recent spikes in cases in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.  

COVID19 no longer a global health emergency: WHO

PrevNext