46 Years For £120million Booze Fraud Gang
A gang from Berkshire that stole £34 million in VAT and laundered £87 million after selling illicit alcohol have been jailed for more than 46 years.
Gang leaders Jayesh Shah, Riaz Khan, Fiaz Raja and Muhammad Rasool, orchestrated a VAT fraud. Gang members then laundered the stolen tax and the proceeds from selling illicit alcohol.
The group created paperwork detailing fictitious transactions, which were used as a cover for the sale of smuggled alcohol.
Evidence showed £87m was laundered through more than 50 bank accounts in Britain, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Dubai and other foreign countries.
Shah, 52, of Wembley, Khan, 49, of Windsor, plus Raja, 51, and Rasool, 38, both of Slough, headed the gang who laundered the proceeds of illicit alcohol importations using companies under their control. The fraud was carried out over two years between January 2013 and 2015.
The investigation team dismantled the complex operation after executing more than 20 warrants in January 2015 across London, Berkshire, Surrey, East Sussex and Buckinghamshire, seizing computers, £370,000 cash and business records.
Confiscation proceedings against the group are now underway.