Jail for man who laundered over £5million in cash

The investigation began in 2016 following the seizure of £30,000 in cash in Alum Rock, Birmingham, which kickstarted an incredibly detailed money laundering investigation.

As a result, officers from the Regional Economic Crime Unit alongside teams from West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit and HMRC all joined forces and uncovered over £5.3million had been laundered in cash between 2012 and 2016.

It was the end of the road for Handa as the teams closed in on his offending, identifying almost 30 properties he had purchased despite declaring little or no income to HMRC.

The money used to buy these houses was sourced from a large number of bank accounts, including accounts based outside of the UK.

The 52-year old appeared at Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday 2 October after pleading guilty to money laundering.

Handa was jailed for six years and nine months and ordered to pay back £5.8million including £460,000 to HMRC for unpaid taxes. Failure to pay will result in him receiving a further 10-year additional sentence.

Handa will also have to sell 28 properties secured by his criminal activity. 

Avtar Nijjer, aged 73, from Leicester, was also sentenced after being charged with money laundering.

He was found to be working alongside Handa depositing cash on his behalf over a year long period.

He was sentenced to a year and three months in prison and ordered to pay back £138,125.

Failure to do so will result in a year being added onto his sentence.

Iftikhar Hussain, aged 68, from Birmingham, was also charged with money laundering and received a 12-month community order for his role in moving £29,400 in cash on one occasion.

Detective Constable Richard Causier, of the Regional Economic Crime Unit, said: “This was an incredibly vast case that took around two-and-a-half years to investigate before the individuals were charged.

“It included analysing over 100 bank accounts, reviewing large amounts of digital evidence, using Proceeds of Crime Act powers to execute warrants and restrain property and working with expert witnesses.

“I want to thank everyone involved in this investigation.  It’s a text book example of how working in partnership can result in uncovering a sophisticated criminal operation like this, which has not only put criminals behind bars for their actions but also removed the benefit they received from such activity.”

A HMRC spokesperson said: "We are and always will be on the side of the law-abiding majority, working with partners like West Midlands Police to investigate anyone suspected of laundering the proceeds of crime.  

“Anyone with information about money laundering or any type of tax fraud can contact HMRC online.”