Four men have been sentenced in relation to a £266 million money laundering operation. Their sentencing occurred on Friday, March 7, 2025.
Gregory Frankel, 47, Daniel Rawson, 47, Haroon Rashid, 54, and Arjun Babber, 32, were sentenced to 11 years, eight months, 10 years, 10 months, 10 years, and 11 years’ imprisonment, respectively, after being found guilty of money laundering offences at Leeds Crown Court.
A detailed and comprehensive West Yorkshire Police investigation into the activities of these defendants unearthed large amounts of unexplained cash passing through businesses.
The cash was credited to the bank account of Fowler Oldfield after being collected from three different sites: Fowler Oldfield’s own premises at an industrial-style unit at Hall Lane, Bradford, the offices of Stunt & Co, Leconfield House, Curzon St, London, and Pure Nines, New House, in Hatton Garden, London.
The cash was brought into business addresses owned or managed by these defendants.
It was delivered by cash couriers in sports bags, carrier bags, and holdalls full of hundreds of thousands of pounds at a time, all of which were paid into Fowler Oldfield’s bank account.
The prosecution case established that this cash represented criminal property and Fowler Oldfield was being used as the vehicle to launder the dirty cash.
The cash was counted on the premises by staff using specialist counting machines such as those used in banks.
The money was then bundled together for collection by G4S or the Post Office, who then delivered it to the NatWest bank to be deposited into Fowler Oldfield’s bank account.
Hannah Von Dadelszen of the Crown Prosecution Service said, “This case is one of the largest money laundering prosecutions ever brought to the courts in England and Wales. It involved a colossal quantity of cash, undoubtedly derived from criminal activity.
“Criminal Justice enforcement, involving a number of agencies, have sent an important message out about the wholesale laundering of criminal proceeds.
“We have already seen the successful prosecution of 12 cash couriers who were bringing large bundles of criminal cash into Fowler Oldfield. Their convictions will hopefully deter them and others from becoming involved in the same way in the future.”
