Jail for trader who failed to declare his assets

Inquiries then revealed John Arthur Brown had paid regular amounts of cash into his accounts that he used to discharge the order, for which he could give no legitimate explanation when interviewed.

Ruth Cranidge for Brown told Leeds Crown Court yesterday the money had not come from continuing drug offences as the prosecution claimed but from Brown failing to disclose his true financial position to the judge who made the original order.

“He has tried to frustrate the system but he has only done so by a couple of years and he has now been caught out.”

Brown, 54, of Main Street, Upton, Pontefract was jailed for 14 months after admitting 15 offences of money laundering.

Sentencing him Recorder Dean Kershaw said he could not be satisfied it was proceeds from drug dealing but it was still serious since he had tried to “hoodwink” the previous court.

“I am told your culpability in reality is that you didn’t disclose in those proceedings the fact you had got some hidden assets.”

He said if Brown had an extra £100,000 in cash hidden which he could not explain, it clearly could have impacted on the case.

He had also told a pack of lies during the recent investigation including claiming to police he had borrowed £60,000 from a friend.

Nadeem Bashir prosecuting said Brown was sentenced to six months in prison in 2008 for possession of amphetamines with intent to supply.

By last year he had discharged the £135,000 confiscation order in full.

He was able to show some money came from the sale of some of his wife’s jewellery but £104,000 was unexplained while he was unemployed. He also bought a £43,000 caravan during the period.

Brown is one of a number of criminals facing court again under Operation Freshwater where West Yorkshire Police has discovered they have additional or new assets since the original orders were made.

The force has already taken 14 people back to court since February 2010 and seized almost £300,000 in additional assets.”

WYP financial investigation manager Dave Charity said: “We have found monies in bank accounts totalling thousands of pounds.

“We have found houses which have been bought outright by the criminals in their own names.

“Some of them may have been arrested and found to be carrying large amounts of cash,” he explained.

Mr Charity said many assets were hidden abroad, with Pakistan, Spain and Dubai being the most popular destinations.

The head of WYP’s economic crime unit, Detective Chief Inspector Fran Naughton, said: “Some of the criminals we deal with are used to prison. It is just another social network for them.

“But seizing assets is really affecting them, and police forces across the country have approached us to see how we do it.”