“It included analysing over 100 bank accounts"
A Birmingham man who laundered more than £5.3 million through a web of property deals has been jailed.
Fifty-two-year-old Gurmeet Handa was behind a complex fraud involving dozens of properties.
His crimes were exposed after West Midlands Police seized £30,000 in cash from an address in Alum Rock in 2016.
The discovery triggered a two-and-a-half-year investigation by the Regional Economic Crime Unit, West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit, and HMRC.
Officers found that Handa had purchased around 30 properties despite declaring little or no income to HMRC.
He used funds moved through numerous bank accounts, including some held overseas. Investigators later confirmed he had laundered more than £5.3 million before being charged.
After pleading guilty to money laundering, Handa appeared at Birmingham Crown Court.
He was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison and ordered to repay £5.8 million, including £460,000 owed to HMRC in unpaid taxes.
If he fails to pay, he faces an additional 10-year sentence and must sell 28 properties obtained through criminal means.
Avtar Nijjer, aged 73, of Leicester, was found to have deposited cash on Handa’s behalf for over a year. He was sentenced to a year and three months in prison and ordered to repay £138,125, with a further year added if he fails to comply.
Iftikhar Hussain, aged 68, from Birmingham, also admitted money laundering. He received a 12-month community order for 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 textbook 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.”
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