Four men guilty in largest money laundering case ever in the UK at Yorkshire jewellery company

Fowler Oldfield, a Bradford-based scrap jewellery business, was part of what is thought to be the largest ever money laundering case in the UK.

At one point during the operation, around £1.7m was being brought to the offices in Hall Lane, Bradford, by the sack load to be counted out before being collected by legitimate cash-in-transit companies.

The convictions mark the end of a painstaking, years-long investigation by West Yorkshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit, which suspected huge amounts of bank notes were being laundered under a veil of legitimacy in Yorkshire.

Detectives found huge amounts of cash were being credited to the bank account of Fowler Oldfield, which had been collected from three different sites; Fowler Oldfield’s own premises at an industrial-style unit at Hall Lane, Bradford, the offices of Stunt & Company, Leconfield House, Curzon St, London, and Pure Nines, New House, in Hatton Garden, London.

A trial at Leeds Crown Court, which lasted 19 weeks, found Gregory Frankel, aged 47, Daniel Rawson, aged 47, Haroon “Harry” Rashid, aged 54, and Arjun Babber, aged 32, guilty of money laundering.

Socialite James Stunt, the son-in-law of Formula 1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone, was cleared of being involved in the network.

Mr Stunt and Rawson were the only defendants present during the trial and to hear the verdicts on Tuesday. Frankel, Rashid and Babber were found guilty in their absence.

Mr Stunt left court after the verdicts were announced and hugged family and friends outside the courtroom.

Rawson started sobbing after his guilty verdict was confirmed, and had to be comforted by a dock officer.

CCTV footage showed couriers from as far afield as Glasgow, Manchester and Merseyside turning up at Hall Lane, Bradford, carrying heavy bags laden with bank notes – and all the proceeds of crime.

The money was often concealed in sports bags, carrier bags, ‘bags for life’, gift-wrapped toy boxes and even take-away food containers.

The money was used to buy gold grain which is untraceable and easier to conceal than bullion. Much of this gold is then believed to have been taken out of the UK.

West Yorkshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit was alerted in 2016 when a cash-in-transit company raised concerns about the huge increase in cash being collected from Fowler Oldfield.

Fowler Oldfield’s legitimate business would involve the purchase of scrap jewellery, including gold, in return for cash. However, the business model dramatically changed to receiving and processing cash on a large scale.

Detectives scoured over invoices emails and paperworks - as well as 8,000 hours of CCTV footage, and estimated around £266m was paid into the Fowler Oldfield accounts from January 2014 to September 2016.

The amount of cash coming into the company increased from just over £11,000 in 2012 to over £650,000 a year later. By 2015, payments into the long-established Bradford company grew substantially – with £95million coming in.

Couriers were given a token, such as a dollar bill or £5 note and a password to identify themselves and for proof of delivery. When officers executed a search warrant at Fowler Oldfield’s Bradford premises in September 2016, over £2.1million was seized.

No-one has ever come forward to claim any of the cash belongs to them.

Speaking after the verdicts, 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 am pleased that we successfully demonstrated that to the court. 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.

“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.

“But the truth is that these people, some of whom lived very lavish lifestyles, all profited from the misery caused by drugs and organised crime.

“The outcome of this court case demonstrates we have 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 undertaken by the West Yorkshire Police Economic Crime Unit, has taken over eight years to reach this point and I am pleased the diligence and tremendous determination our officers and staff, together with partner agencies, has achieved this result. “Nobody is beyond the reach of the law.”

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. These defendants were at the heart of the operation to launder and legitimise the dirty cash, bringing it into the banking system.

“Criminal Justice enforcement, involving a number of agencies, have 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 way, in the future.

“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 CPS Serious Economic, Organised Crime and International Directorate have successfully prosecuted these individuals who were the prime organisers in the laundering process.

“We will now make every effort to ensure that they do not enjoy the fruits of their criminal activity, pursuing confiscation proceedings against them.”