Category: General News & Cases

Lastest news concerning AML from press releases and publications

  • 31.07.09 Serious organised crime review published

    The Government’s new strategy for tackling serious organised crime, entitled Extending Our Reach: A Comprehensive Approach to Tackling Serious Organised Crime, has been published.

    The strategy endorses many of SOCA’s current ways of working, including by seeking to cement a collaborative approach and to embrace wide-ranging tactics.

    The strategy’s four main aims are to:

    • ensure that all organised criminals are within our reach, using non-traditional techniques to create an improved intelligence picture and supporting the principle of lifetime management;
    • use whatever tools have maximum impact, prosecuting when possible but also going further into using non-criminal proceedings, including to recover finances and assets;
    • enable all of Government to play its part, including by strengthening the criminal justice system approach and using the powers of agencies outside law enforcement to combat organised crime together;
    • maximise collective efforts overseas, and to work closely with the private sector and with the public.

    Speaking at the launch of the strategy, SOCA Executive Director David Bolt said:

    “Organised crime is constantly evolving, as is law enforcement, and five years after the publication of ‘One Step Ahead’ this is a timely and appropriate response. Our intelligence on organised crime has improved significantly, and we have new powers, the effects of which are starting to be felt. At the same time there are new opportunities for criminals, and law enforcement has to keep working to stay ahead”.

    The Review is a strong endorsement for the approaches SOCA has been pioneering, and looks to extend those approaches more widely. For example, every SOCA investigation involves a financial investigation; we are making use of Serious Crime Prevention Orders and Financial Reporting Orders; we work with non-law enforcement partners and the private sector; we work with prosecutors to ensure that the best line is taken in every case; and we are exploring the potential for greater data sharing and matching. We know that other countries look to the UK as leading the field in many of these areas.

    Through SOCA’s operational efforts in its first three years we have been able to identify over 5,000 individuals involved in organised crime at a level that makes them of interest to us. The people we are concerned about are mostly lifetime criminals. Some are overseas, some are in prison, but once they are in our sights we do not let go. We recognise that it is not a matter of dealing them a single blow and that we have to keep up our attack. As a result, it is likely that the number of people on our radar will continue to grow.

    The main principles of the new strategy are sensible: all organised criminals within reach; all approaches considered; all of government playing its part; all partners at home and overseas engaged. We particularly welcome the specific remit the Review gives to other government departments and agencies: this is not just for the Home Office and law enforcement to deliver. Collaboration is the key. This is something SOCA has always promoted – the legislation that set us up designed us to operate on that basis.

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  • 23.07.09 SOCA – Belfast Anti-Money Laundering Conference

    SOCA – Belfast Anti-Money Laundering Conference

    Businesses in Northern Ireland are invited to a free one day conference on Tuesday 22 September 2009 to learn how to safeguard themselves against serious organised crime and money laundering.

    The event, organised by the Asset Recovery Working Group ‘Payback’ Team, and hosted by the Organised Crime Task Force (OCTF) and SOCA’s UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU) is aimed at small and medium sized businesses in Northern Ireland who are covered by the Money Laundering Regulations 2007.

    David Thomas, Head of the UK Financial Intelligence Unit, said: “Such businesses – by their very nature – are vulnerable to abuse by those attempting to launder the proceeds of crime. The conference will make businesses more aware of their role in identifying any suspicious activity taking place during their day-to-day work, thereby protecting their business and reducing harm caused to communities by serious organised crime.”

    This conference is specifically designed for employees of regulated businesses who are responsible for combating money laundering and aims to raise their awareness of the Suspicious Activity Reporting regime (SAR regime) and the requirements of the Money Laundering Regulations in order to better protect their businesses against the threat from money laundering.

    The conference includes presentations on law and practice, as well as smaller sessions, providing sector-specific guidance from regulators and case studies from the law enforcement community highlighting the value of SARs in reducing the harm caused by crime.

    The event will commence at 9.30am and finish at 4.30pm, anyone interested in attending should contact: eventmanagement@soca.x.gsi.gov.uk for an application form.

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  • 18.06.09 Taliban, Al Qaeda finances recovering

    Investigation shows Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan get money from extortion, crime and drugs.Taliban refer to extortion money as tolls, taxes or zakat

    PESHAWAR: For the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, money is coming mostly from extortion, crime and drugs, an AP investigation claims

    Funding for the Al Qaeda is more diverse and included money from new recruits, donations from sympathisers, and a cut of profits from honey dealers in Yemen and Pakistan.

    “With respect to the Taliban, the narco-dollars are a major, if not majority, of their funding sources, and I think add in there as well extortion and kidnapping,” said Juan Carlos, a former US National Security Council adviser on terrorism who now works at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

    Afghanistan produces more opium than any other country in the world. The Taliban charge drug kingpins to move the opium through their territory. The United Nations estimates their annual cut to be more than $300 million.

    ‘Taxes’: The Taliban refer to extortion money as tolls, taxes or zakat. Money from drugs and criminal gangs makes up roughly 85 to 90 percent of Taliban revenue, estimates John Solomon of the US Military Academy’s Counter Terrorism Centre. In Pakistan, the NWFP governor puts the Taliban’s annual earnings at roughly Rs 4 billion.

    Taliban soldiers are paid nearly $100 a month, more than the average Pakistani policeman. A Taliban commander gets more than $350 a month.

    The informal money transfer system known as hawala or hundi is flourishing in Pakistan and Afghanistan as well as the US. Former prime minister Shaukat Aziz said more than $5 billion went out of Pakistan every year through this system, which operates without regulation.

    In three of the last five years, the top source of money transfer into Pakistan through hawala has been the US, a security official said.

    After September 11, 2001, the financial crackdown closed some of Al Qaeda’s sources of funding. But with the help of the hawala system, it has since re-established its money line.

    Over the last two years, it has turned up the call for donations, told new recruits to bring money with them, and shown signs of being more frugal. This can either mean that it is saving up for another 9/11-style attack, or that the crackdown has curbed its fundraising ability.

    Estimates of Al Qaeda’s annual spending vary wildly from $300 million to as low as $10 million.

    Carlos said its main expenses were payments to families; food and shelter to maintain operations; travel and logistics; money for cells engaged in plots; bribes, and expenses for long-term plans like anthrax research.

    Some charities with alleged Al Qaeda connections have renamed themselves. In Kuwait, the Revival Islamic Heritage Society, believed by the US to be heavily financing Al Qaeda, is still operating.

    Because of demands from the International Monetary Fund, Pakistan has removed restrictions on the amount of money that can be brought into the country. It has limited to $10,000 the money that can leave the country, cracking down on some of the biggest hawala dealers.

    “Once the money is inside the country, it is difficult to locate it. Smugglers and transporters help finance the Taliban either out of sympathy for their cause or because they are being forced to give a share,” said a security official.

    A cartel of honey dealers is back in business, laundering money and moving drugs but the scale is smaller than in 2001.

    A former fighter with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar told AP honey is sent from Pakistan with an inflated price tag to markets in the Middle East and the profits sent by courier to Al Qaeda.

    Honey dealers in Peshawar said that there was no Al Qaeda link to their sales. But one honey dealer said the outlawed Al Shifa Honey Press was still operating in Punjab. He said he knew of no Al Qaeda affiliation

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  • 5 June 2009 EUROPE’S ‘BIGGEST PEOPLE SMUGGLER’ JAILED FOR PIZZA PLOT

    An Afghan criminal who boasted he was Europe’s biggest people smuggler has been jailed for 9 years for smuggling illegal immigrants into the UK.

    Two other members of the people smuggling gang were today sentenced to a total of 19 years.

    The gang is known to be responsible for the illegal immigration of more than 230 young men into Europe, mainly from Pakistan and Afghanistan, although the actual figures are likely to be higher. Almost half of those were smuggled into the UK. The victims were then set to work in pizza outlets to pay off their ’debt’ of up to £10,000.

    Kingston Crown Court heard how SOCA surveillance recorded Abdul Hameed Sakhizada in January 2008 saying that in two months he had facilitated 1800 people, claiming “I am Europe’s agent, I am the smuggler of Europe.”

    SOCA worked with international law enforcement agencies to investigate the gang, which smuggled its victims through Afghanistan, into Iran and Turkey,then to the Greek islands, and into other European countries including the UK.

    Seventeen pizza outlets were raided in January 2008 by SOCA, Kent Police,Northamptonshire Police, Thames Valley Police, Hampshire Police, and UKBA. The gang members were arrested and charged with conspiracy to facilitate the illegal immigration of persons into the EU and the UK, and with conspiracy to launder the criminal proceeds of crime. The victims found were dealt with by the UKBA. Subsequent raids uncovered false birth certificates and driving licences.

    Sakhizada pleaded guilty at the start of the trial on 16 March. His role was to coordinate the crossing into Europe from Turkey to Greece – a service he also provided for other international gangs. Independent agents based in each of the other transit countries would manage the different stages of the journey.

    The main organiser of the UK trade, Abdul Wakil Niazi, who was involved in the management and running of the pizza outlets, along with Sakhizada’s brother, Ahmed Shah Sakhizada, was found guilty on 21 May. They were sentenced to 12 years and 7 years respectively.

    His Honour Justice Welchman called the people smuggling operation “a very serious and well organised enterprise, a complex scheme involving a high degree of planning”.

    SOCA’s Director of Enforcement Trevor Pearce said:
    “People smuggling is a serious crime which exploits vulnerable people for profit and causes harm to individuals, communities and the UK as a whole. This was a highly sophisticated and well organised criminal enterprise which was prepared to extort money from its victims and challenge the UK’s immigration regime. The message today is clear – the UK is not a soft touch for people smugglers. SOCA’s global connections mean we will find you and we will stop you.”

    UK Border Agency Regional Director Tony Smith said:
    “We are determined to tackle those who commit organised immigration crime and bring the perpetrators to justice. This was a major international conspiracy to facilitate the entry of illegal immigrants into the UK. “Those behind it showed total disregard for the law, and their motives were purely financial. We will continue to work shoulder-to-shoulder with SOCA, the police and other enforcement partners to stamp out any abuses of the system,and remove those who have no right to be in the UK.”

    Janet Boston, reviewing lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service Organised Crime Division, said:
    “This was a profitable, sophisticated operation which was run in a highly organised, business-like manner by men who took advantage of those who willingly left their homeland and families to seek a better life. Inevitably these illegal immigrants were in debt to those who helped them gain entry to the UK and were put to work fast food outlets where the money they earned was taken to pay their debts. Any money the organisers made was channelled back into the people smuggling organisation – enabling the whole circle to begin again. “The defendants all had various positions in the “business”.

     Abdul Hameed Sakhizada and Abdul Wakil Niazi were the main organisers while the prosecution case was that others fulfilled the roles of money collectors, book keepers, provided false documents and transferred the money overseas. This was a major people smuggling enterprise and thanks to the hard work of all the agencies involved and the prosecution team in presenting the case, it has now been dismantled. We will now be looking at making applications under the Proceeds of Crime Act for money made by the organisation and for Serious Crime Prevention Orders which will restrict the defendants’ ability to engage in this activity in the future.”

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  • 3 June 2009 36 million spliffs incinerated as international crime gang is convicted

    Over 12.5 tonnes of cannabis resin – enough to produce 36 million spliffs – has been incinerated after an investigation by the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

    The drugs seizure, from the tug boat ‘Abbira’ which had docked at Southampton, represents one of the largest seizures of cannabis resin in the UK. It was destroyed in a specialist incinerator and needed 6 separate burnings to cope with the volume.

    10 men were convicted at Winchester Crown Court today for their part in the criminal plot.

    In a coordinated operation led by SOCA and involving Leicestershire Police, HMRC andUKBA, 12 men were arrested on the 09th April 2008, at the same time as a search of the Abbira began. Over a number of days, 419 bales of cannabis weighing 12.57 tonnes in total were removed from the fresh water, ballast and foam tanks of the tug.

    The prosecution showed that an Israeli organised crime group employed an Eastern European crew to transport the drugs to the UK for delivery to a Leicester based criminal gang. Significant national and international cooperation was needed to target the various groups, and resulted in a lengthy trial with multiple translations and complex argument to prove the importation offence.

    Andy Sellers, Deputy Director of SOCA, said:
    “This operation was a massive success for international and national law enforcement cooperation. The quantity of drugs seized would have resulted in upwards of three and a half million street deals and would have funded a wide range of other criminal activity. “Taking out both ends of the criminal operation means that not only have we disrupted a supply route into the UK, but also a distribution network that would most likely have stretched right across the UK.”

    Joanne Jakymec, Senior Lawyer, Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office said:
    “This conviction represents 14 months of dedicated team work between several departments overcoming multiple language barriers. The defendants included nationals from the UK, Israel, Serbia and Ukraine, and as a result international assistance was sought from 10 different countries. The RCPO prosecution team presented over 5000 pages of evidence in support of their case, including material from Israel, USA and Holland.’

    Commander Chris Pratt of HM Revenue & Customs /UK Border Agency said:
    “The cutter crew and rummage teams used breathing apparatus equipment to remove the drugs from the Abbira’s water and ballast tanks. It took our officers nearly five days to recover and offload the 419 bales from these confined chambers. This was a huge amount of cannabis resin to discover on one vessel and an excellent result for all the organisations involved.”

    Detective Chief Inspector David Sandall, who led the Leicestershire side of the investigation, said:
    “This case demonstrates how different agencies can successfully work together to disable the international drugs trade. “Drugs are an international concern and to fight multi-national criminality you have to think, act and work outside the county boundaries. There’s no doubt in my mind that this drugs haul was bound for the streets of Britain, some of which would inevitably have ended up in Leicester. By working with SOCA, the UKBA, HMRC and authorities in Israel we have targeted the problem at the source.

    “There’s £36m of cannabis that will never reach the street dealers and there are 10 men in prison for their part in this crime. Everyone who worked on this case can feel proud of their achievements today and the part they played in a much bigger picture, targeting international drugs criminality, while at the same time disrupting local drugs supply on the UK’s streets.”
    The 10 men will be sentenced on Thursday 04 June 2009 at Winchester Crown Court.

    Details of the verdicts:
    Moshe KEDAR d.o.b 12/07/1927 (Israel) Guilty 29/052009
    Yehezkel SREBRO d.o.b 12/11/1951 (Israel) Pleaded 29/09/08
    Mordechai HERSH d.o.b 25/11/1941 (Israel) Guilty 29/05/2009
    Mohinder Singh RAI d.o.b 22/02/1964 (UK National) Pleaded 29/09/08
    Baljinder Singh RAI d.o.b 18/10/1967 (UK National) Pleaded 29/09/08
    Anjum NAZIR d.o.b 01/02/1970 (UK National) Pleaded 17/02/09
    Dragan STANKOVIC d.o.b 17/12/1954 (Serbian) Guilty 29/05/2009
    Goram OTOVIC d.o.b 28/04/1955 (Serbian) Guilty 29/05/2009
    Dusan MILEUSNIC d.o.b 07/10/1959 (Serbian) Guilty 02/06/2009
    Negovan JOVANOVIC d.o.b 07/09/1950 (Serbian) Guilty 02/06/2009
    Yaroslav KSENOVETS d.o.b 04/09/1973 (Ukraine) Acquitted 02/06/09
    Sergiy KHODOS d.o.b 08/02/1983 (Ukraine) Acquitted 02/06/09

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  • 18.05.09 Tax haven crackdown to hit offshore financial centres

    The number of offshore financial centres could shrink by half within the next five years as the worldwide crackdown on tax havens gathers pace, according to a prominent Jersey-based financial lobbyist.

    Geoff Cook, chief executive of Jersey Finance, a promotional body representing the financial services industry on the Channel Island, said: “It is not inconceivable to think that the number of offshore finance centres could fall by half in the next few years.”

    Cook was responding to a question on the future of offshore centres at a conference hosted by Jersey Finance in London last week. The Paris-based Organisation of for Economic Co-operation and Development lists 38 jurisdictions as tax havens.

    These include Jersey, the Cayman Islands and Liechtenstein, and less well-known and small jurisdictions such as the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Montserrat and Nauru in the Pacific.

    Cook and others reckon smaller offshore centres will feel pressure to meet increasingly tougher regulatory and disclosure rules from international organisations and governments demanding greater transparency.

    Tax havens are being forced to sign anti-secrecy agreements, or face possible sanctions from G20 countries. An estimated $7 trillion (€5.2 trillion) of assets are held offshore and, according to pressure group Tax Justice Network, developed countries lose $180bn a year in evaded taxes.
    Jay Krause, a partner at law firm Withers, said: “The next stage of development in international information sharing in tax matters will likely focus on establishing ‘automatic’ information exchange between jurisdictions.

    Such procedures may in practice be challenging for some of the smaller offshore centres to implement.” Currently, Most offshore centres only disclose information on accounts when there is a specific request from another country that has signed a tax information exchange agreement with the tax haven.

    Krause added that smaller offshore centres will also struggle to attract the required talent to defend themselves against regulatory pressures.

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  • 08.04.09 Liverpool drug gang hit with £140,000 Proceeds of Crime action by Serious and Organised Crime Agency

    liverpool-crown-court1A LIVERPOOL gang behind a massive Scottish drugs farm was stripped of thousands of pounds. John Fitzgibbon, 60, and Michael Fairhurst, 44, ran the sophisticated cannabis operation for more than two years. The Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) raided the farm on the north-east coast of Scotland in the spring of 2007. Officers took the pair and a third man, Richard Ford, 60, to Liverpool crown court to claw back as much money as possible using the Proceeds of Crime Act. The three were stripped of a total of almost £140,000 during the two-day hearing.

    Ford, a Newcastle man, was caught handing a 2kg bag of heroin to Fitzgibbon and Fairhurst. He will now have to pay back the drug’s estimated street value of £37,891. Robert Altham, prosecuting, told the court he had not attended court and so he was liable to pay back its full value as well as £2,391 in his bank account and £120 on a credit card. The court also heard that SOCA had sold off Fitzgibbon and Fairhurst’s Scottish farm for £61,000. At its peak the the cannabis farm was capable of generating more than £1m a year.

    When officers raided Little Cushnie farm the gang tried to destroy the evidence by setting fire to huge drums of cannabis. But their efforts were unsuccessful and SOCA was able to recover enough evidence to convict the gang. The pair, who also ran a drug pushing operation in Liverpool have also seen their cars impounded and sold off. The court heard that officers had seized a Toyota worth £3,500, a Ford Transit worth £1,000, a Peugeot valued at £3,900 and a Chevrolet worth £4,900. All the vehicles belonged to Fairhurst, of Stanley Park Avenue South, Anfield, and will now be sold off for an estimated total of £7,425.

    Fitzgibbon, of Bellfield Crescent, Huyton, yesterday heard that the SOCA officers had seized a stash of drugs held in the cars worth £202,375 belonging to Fitzgibbon. The court also heard that Fitzgibbon, who is now serving a 13-and-a-half jail term for his part in the drug conspiracy, had laundered money by buying thousands of euros. He will now have to pay out about £40,000 and faces an additional 15 month jail term if he fails to pay. This means he either has to sell or remortgage his home to pay off the debt by October 6.

    Meanwhile, two of Fitzgibbon and Fairhurst’s accomplices who worked as gardeners at the Scottish drug factory are serving 18 month jail terms. Wayne Nickson, 46, of David Street, Toxteth, and James Truman, 43, of Harefield Road, Speke, had both previously pleaded guilty to being concerned with the production of cannabis.

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  • 31.03.09 SOCA Issues Warning To Drug Traffickers

    The Serious Organised Crime Agency is warning drug traffickers they will face a long time behind bars if they attempt to import drugs into the United Kingdom.

    Tobagonians Owen Alfred and Oswin Moore were jailed for 18 and 15 years respectively in London today for their roles in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy. Ten other members of the organised crime gang, which has been completely dismantled by SOCA, were previously sentenced to a total of 144 years.

    Alfred and Moore were extradited from Trinidad and Tobago to the UK in June 2008 and were convicted of conspiracy to import controlled drugs following a six-week trial at Kingston Crown Court.

    SOCA Executive Director Trevor Pearce said: “Drug trafficking causes misery to local communities and funds other criminal activity. SOCA and its partners are committed to using our global partnerships to tackle this problem.

    “Today’s lengthy jail terms send a very clear message to criminals – if you come onto SOCA’s radar we will pursue you, track you down, and put you behind bars. Alfred and Moore have paid a heavy price for importing cocaine into the UK and are now in jail thousands of miles away from their family and friends. Targeting the UK is a high risk business and will not be tolerated.”

    The court heard how gang members in the UK used a money transfer service to pay Alfred and Moore to supply drugs and provide documentation, accommodation, transportation and cover stories for drug mules. Officers identified 21 mules, who had each swallowed up to one kilo of cocaine. They have all been jailed separately either in Tobago or the UK.

    Evidence including money transaction details, false letters and telephone bills enabled officers to prove approximately 140 kilos of cocaine had been sent to the UK between June 2002 and July 2005. The cocaine was being distributed by UK gang members to dealers in South London.

    Both men were arrested on behalf of SOCA by officers from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service’s Organised Crime, Narcotics and Firearms Bureau. They were extradited to the UK in June 2008 following a court hearing in the Port of Spain.

    Trevor Pearce added: “The success of this investigation is down to the hard work and dedication of officers from both SOCA and the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service. Eight of their officers travelled to the UK to give evidence and I want to thank them for their assistance.

    “By working in partnership with the TTPS and the Attorney General’s office we have successfully dismantled an organised crime gang responsible for causing harm to the public in both the UK and Trinidad and Tobago.”

    As part of a different operation, the UK’s 120 year old extradition treaty with Colombia was used for the first time last week when a man was brought back to the UK by SOCA officers to face charges of money laundering linked to cocaine supply.

    Sentencing details:
    Kingston Crown Court, London – 31 March 2009
    • Owen Alfred, DoB 30/6/68, of Idle Wild, Scarborough, Tobago – 18 years
    • Oswin Moore, DoB 28/4/68, of Big George Junction, Orange Hill Road,
    • Patience Hill, Tobago – 15 years

    Kingston Crown Court, London – 20 July 2006
    • Paul Williams, DoB 22/06/67, Harris House, Brixton, London – 22 years
    • Delroy Gibson, DoB 19/06/67, Church Road, Gypsy Hill, London – 21 years
    • Anson Charles, DoB 25/08/59, Alexander Drive, Gipsy Hill, London (T&T national) – 20 years
    • Charles Gordon, DoB not known, Broadstone House, Kennington, London – 20 years
    • Wayne Brown, DoB 20/04/65, Whitehorse Lane, Thornton Heath, London – 10 years
    • Kerin Burris-Gordon, DoB 23/06/82, Broadstone House, Kennington – 10 years
    • Derek Anthony, DoB 28/08/68, Roberts House, Tulse Hill, London – 15years
    • Stephanie McQueenie, DoB 05/12/79, Lockwood Square, Rotherhithe, London – 13 years
    • Stacy Burris, DoB 13/07/84, Alexander Drive, Gipsy Hill, London – 7 years
    • Yvonne Anthony, DoB 03/09/75, Letchford Gardens, White City, London – 6 years

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  • 30.03.09 Wirral drug baron’s wife’s Champagne lifestyle comes to end

    liverpool-daily-post-news-dynamic-panels-image-3-7581387671SHE enjoyed a life of the most vulgar excess, once joining her husband for a £600 chauffeur ride to Claridges for a £345 meal at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant. But yesterday the glamorous wife of a Liverpool drugs baron was locked up for laundering his ill-gotten gains. Former beautician Sara Shea used her university-educated husband Keith’s drug money to pay for an enviable lifestyle of luxury.

    He was locked up for 15 years in 2007 for plotting to flood the streets with cocaine, while storing a deadly arsenal of weapons.

    The couple married in a lavish Barbados beach ceremony – spending £12,000 on flights alone – before throwing a £6,000 homecoming at Wirral’s Hillbark hotel. They splashed out £1,095 on dinner in the Oxo Tower – washed down with a £850 bottle of Cristal champagne. Their love of designer watches included an exclusive Chopard, a diamond-encrusted Chanel and his 18-carat gold Rolex. The latter cost £11,530.

    Of course, no luxury lifestyle is complete without expensive cars.  The Sheas had their share of Porsches, before settling on the £110,000 Aston Martin police found when they raided their £300,000 Wallasey home, where the steam room had its own plasma TV. The Aston was accompanied by a £46,500 BMW and a £76,000 Porsche.

    In just a year, the Sheas spent £90,000 in lavish entertainment, including £5,000 on hospitality at the British Open golf and £1,000 a time hiring a box at the MEN Arena. Mrs Shea owned handbags worth £12,000, with an account at Christian Dior’s boutique in Monaco.

    Yesterday, smartly-dressed with sunglasses, and carrying a designer bag, she was jailed for 2½ years. Judge David Harris, QC, said: “There are other partners who may be in this position.

    “The message has to go out that, if they meddle in the proceeds of crime, particularly drug crime, there will be serious repercussions for them.”

    Liverpool Crown Court heard the jet-set couple holidayed in luxurious resorts in Mexico, Marbella, and Nice. Sara Shea claimed she never knew her husband was a drugs lord.

    But Graham Pickavance, prosecuting, told the court the couple were stripped of £7,000 and 2000 euros at Liverpool’s John Lennon airport that was heavily contaminated with Class A drugs. Mrs Shea was carrying half the money, which they never tried to reclaim. The dark-haired 30-year-old, of Montpellier Court, Wallasey, later admitted she suspected their life-style was funded by crime.

    She admitted 11 money laundering charges, totaling £104,000.
    Jonathan Clarke, defending, told the court Sara Shea had inadvertently become involved because of her husband’s actions. He said: “It is an unusual case because this defendant has played no role whatsoever in the offences that lay in such funding coming into the household coffers.
    “Her money laundering was simply spending the money she received from her husband, or being in possession of items he had bought. “She found herself there rather than seeking it.”

    Mr Clarke told the court Shea, who is now dependant on beta blockers and sleeping tablets, had moved away from crime and had been working full-time in Debenhams. She had no wish to return to her husband.

    Judge Harris agreed Sara Shea had “undoubted qualities”, but said she had led an “excessively luxurious lifestyle”. “You chose to turn a blind eye, to ask no questions and to shelter yourself from developing certain knowledge to the nature of his activity.”

    Keith and Sara Shea will face a ‘proceeds of crime’ hearing on July 18.

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  • 12 March 2009 SOCA ‘Payback’ Conference a success

    The payback conference at the National Motorbike Museum, Birmingham was well attended and was generally appreciated by all attendees. Most sectors had a presence of their supervisory bodies. HMRC gave a presentation on risk assessment as well as having advisors on hand to answer queries.

    The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was on hand for the estate agency market while representatives from the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) and The Law Society were on hand for the legal market. The Accountancy sector was represented by a number of supervisors such as the ACCA, ICB & CIPFA. For the first time there were also displays from a number of firms who had support services for the regulated firm. There was a large number representing electronic verification services.

    There were a number of excellent ‘breakout’ sessions giving a good insight into law enforcement as well as supervisors stating their own purpose and problems. The highlight of the day had to be the new head of the SRA who stated that he had a number of problems in his sector to address, for example, who files a SAR on a transaction emanating from a solicitors client’s account? Answer, no one. When questioned directly regarding his concerns over solicitors acting in a criminal or improper manner, he replied, “I do not believe that solicitors are any worse than any other sector”. This did cause a titter amongst the audience.

    These events are worth attending especially for the smaller business, giving you a chance to network and discuss concerns with your peers, supervisors and law enforcement.

    Visit the BTC website for compliance help and support for firms in the regulated sector.