- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Pramod Thomas
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.
