Acquittal of Lead Defendant in £25M Money Laundering Excise Fraud at Southwark Crown Court

After a seven week five-handed HMRC prosecution at Southwark Crown Court, David Whittaker QC, leading Tyrone Belger, this week secured the acquittal of the lead defendant and Head of International Business Development at a London-based finance Company, on all six charges he faced. The Crown alleged that across just 2 years over £25 million cash derived from a massive excise fraud had been laundered through 14 “Tier 1” shell companies created expressly for the purpose. In what was the first trial in a series of four linked cases involving over 20 defendants, the Crown alleged the defendant was at the heart of the wider conspiracy, the right hand man of the organisers, tasked with establishing companies, recruiting and managing Tier 1 Directors and dealing with banking, money laundering regulations, tax and VAT affairs of the shell companies. The defendant had denied any illegitimate involvement in the fraudulent  scheme and said he was recruited solely for his longstanding legitimate business expertise.

David Whittaker QC and Tyrone Belger were instructed by Mr Asif Khan a Consultant at Quality Solicitors Mirza.