Duo charged with money laundering and fraud after counter-terror arrests

A brother and sister duo based in Birmingham have been charged by counter terrorism police for money laundering and fraud offences.

Kaldip Singh Lehal, 38, and Rajbinder Kaur, 50, are accused of offences relating to Sikh Youth UK.

The Birmingham-based organisation is not a registered charity, but take donations for work on rasing awareness on social evils such as substance abuse and domestic violence.

Lehal and Kaur were arrested in July by detectives from the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit “in connection with alleged fraud offences of donated charitable funds”.

On Monday (30), Kaur was charged with money laundering and six counts of theft amounting to £50,000.

Both she and Lehal have been charged with providing false information to the Charity Commission.

They have been bailed and will appear at Birmingham Magistrates Court on October 31.

The Charity Commission for England and Wales said an inquiry into Sikh Youth UK was ongoing.

“We have worked closely with the police to support their investigation,” a spokesperson for the watchdog was quoted as saying by the Independent.

“We intend to publish a full report setting out our findings on conclusion of the inquiry.”