WIREDGOV

An alleged money launderer for London brothels who used a fictitious catering company to disguise her services has been handed a Civil Recovery Order against her assets of £25,121.79.

Helena Berkyova, aged 28, is believed to have attended brothels in the Soho and Covent Garden areas of London to process chip and pin card payments from customers. These payments were laundered via card machines leased to a fictitious catering company called FineDining88 which Ms Berkyova had set up to disguise the various services paid for as, amongst other things, disproportionately expensive soufflés and crab soup.

Ms Berkyova, originally from the Czech Republic, is believed by the Metropolitan Police Service to have been linked to brothels since 2006. The case was referred to the NCA in  January  2016 when, after facing possible criminal proceedings for assisting in the management of a brothel and money laundering, Ms Berkyova left the UK in November 2015.

The NCA obtained a Property Freezing Order on the 14th March 2016 and then initiated a claim to recover the funds.  In its case, the NCA set out evidence of Ms Berkyova’s connections to the brothel industry, her very limited declared legitimate income and the highly suspicious manner in which the card payments were made. Ms Berkyova failed to provide any explanation and given the strength of the NCA’s case, did not engage in, or challenge, the civil recovery proceedings.

The Order made at the High Court under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 relates to the laundering of profits from brothels in London covering a 5 day period in September 2015.