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Wembley businessman, son jailed for 21 years for money laundering

A Wembley businessman and son were jailed for 21 years for laundering £80 million for organised crime.

Bhadresh Shah, 49, and son Abhishek, 24, helped to launder money for criminals in the UK through their hub at the Chandi Bazar in Wembley.


Following a trial at Southwark Crown Court, the father was given 12 years and son was given nine years prison terms in their absence. They attended the first week of the trial but fled while on bail.

Police found ten false company stamps used to create legit business documents at Bazar which were linked to around £10 million in dodgy transfers.

They also used false invoices from multiple companies using the same cut-and-paste templates to dupe legitimate money service bureaus.

Shah's wife Falguni Shah, 45, was jailed for four years. She, along with Dipak Doshi, 57, and Dinesh Parmar, 35, were found guilty of helping to launder the money between September 2011 and April 2014.

"There's no doubt in my mind that this money has come predominantly from the sale of controlled drugs," said Judge Andrew Goymer.

According to him, Shah posed as a pious Hindu and was well-respected around Wembley.

"But he was laundering millions of pounds worth of criminal profits and pressing his family and 'gullible' businessmen to take part in the crooked scheme."

Adrian Keeling, QC, prosecuting, said up to £80 million in sterling and other denominations was funnelled through the three front companies and the unsuspecting money transfer companies in less than three years.

Shah was also convicted of possessing mephedrone and ketamine with intent to supply.

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Malaysian woman wins legal case against Cumbria hotel employer over discrimination

The tribunal found that Ong was the only member of staff required to show her passport before being paid her wages

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Malaysian woman wins legal case against Cumbria hotel employer over discrimination

Highlights

  • Ong was made to work in conditions that triggered her asthma despite suffering from it since age five.
  • She was the only staff member required to show her passport to receive wages.
  • She was sacked after refusing to move accommodation, having never received any wages.
An Asian migrant working without a legal permit has won an employment tribunal case against a hotel in Cumbria.
Erin Ong, a Malaysian national who was in the UK on a visitor's visa, was managing the 32-room Fisherbeck Hotel in Ambleside when she faced a series of discriminatory treatment by her employer.
Despite her employment being described as "tainted by illegality," an employment judge ruled she was still entitled to claim compensation for discrimination.

Ong, who is well-educated and previously worked as a tax consultant at one of the big four accounting firms, was contacted by Zhiyong Zhou, director of Yatson & Co, which owned and ran the hotel.

She was offered the role of manager on a salary of £28,000 a year, with a promise that a work permit would follow after one month.

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