Man jailed after being Found with £550k Dirty Cash

Amir Khan, aged 40, of Manchester, was jailed for four years and 10 months after he was found with £553,000 of dirty cash.

He was caught driving around with more than £150,000 in cash stuffed in carrier bags. When questioned, he refused to say where the money had come from.

In October 2018, Khan handed the cash to two associates, however, all three were being watched by HM Revenue and Customs investigators.

They were stopped and the cash was subsequently seized.

Shabir Kharal, aged 63, a self-employed builder from Bolton, was found with more than £64,000 of the cash.

Meanwhile, Sohail Bham, aged 44, a self-employed courier from Bradford had more than £97,000 in his car.

Investigators then searched unemployed Khan’s home in Cheetham Hill and uncovered bundles of banknotes totalling £403,750 as well as a cash-counting machine.

The three men were arrested, however, they refused to answer questions about the dirty cash.

On Friday, January 15, 2021, the men were sentenced at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.

Khan, who is also known as Azar Khan Abar, pleaded guilty to being concerned in an arrangement which he knew or suspected facilitated money laundering under the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002).

He was jailed for four years and 10 months.

Shabir Kharal received a nine-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months after he pleaded guilty to possession of criminal property under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

He was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work in the community and 15 days of rehabilitation activity.

Sohail Bham was handed an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months after he admitted possessing criminal property under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

He was ordered to complete five days of rehabilitation activity and 150 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Following the hearing, a spokesperson for HM Revenue and Customs said:

“Money laundering funds organised crime. We will not hesitate to seize the proceeds of crime and investigate anyone involved.”

“Anyone with information about tax fraud can report it to HMRC online or call our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”

All of the cash seized was forfeited at uncontested earlier hearings at Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court.

In a separate incident, two brothers were caught with more than £800,000 in cash as part of a gang.

The four gang members were jailed for over 26 years in 2018.