WIREDGOV

The NCA has seized £472,740 from convicted money launderer, Kashaf Ali Khan under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has seized £472,740 from convicted money launderer, Kashaf Ali Khan under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The confiscation order was granted in 2018, after Khan, 44, bought a £412,000 house with money he claimed had been won with 123 prize-winning tickets in the Pakistan lottery. Khan made the purchase in his elderly father’s name, but it was actually Kashaf Khan who was the real purchaser of the property.

The National Crime Agency employed an expert statistician who said it was as likely as winning the UK National Lottery jackpot 40 weeks running.

Khan, who later admitted money laundering by using criminal money to buy the house, has now had to sell the property to pay off the confiscation order.

NCA investigating officer Phil Houghton yesterday said:

“Kashaf Ali Khan wrongfully thought he could get away with funding his lifestyle by criminal means.

“Offenders like Khan play an enabling role for other criminals to move and clean the proceeds of crime. They will be relentlessly pursued by the NCA.

“The issue poses a priority threat for the NCA and we do everything possible to combat it.

“This order is a warning to those who believe they can benefit financially from a criminal lifestyle - crime doesn’t pay.”

The POCA order of £472,740 was paid on 20 August 2019.

In October 2009 the NCA caught Khan handing over a holdall to someone which contained £74,830 in cash.

The following September Khan admitted money laundering offences and received a suspended prison sentence together with an order to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

In January 2012 Khan was ordered to pay £175,000 because of the conviction.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs have no records of him working. And despite Khan having no recorded legitimate income, he paid off the £175,000 in cash within 12 months.

He later admitted paying off the confiscation order using further criminal cash.

In 2013 Khan used criminal monies to buy the Prospect Lane, Solihull property.
During the previous year, flurries of money had been transferred into Khan’s father’s UK bank account from Dubai.

Using his father, Khan used black-market prize bond dealers in Pakistan in a bid to fool investigators into believing he had won legitimate prizes.

Winners of the Pakistan state lottery have to wait several weeks to collect their winnings.

Because of that, some are willing to take a loss and sell their winning ticket to an agent for a lesser amount which they get immediately.

The black-market agents then sell on the winning tickets – for more than they are worth – to crooks, like Khan, needing to clean their criminal money who can then get prize organisers to issue payment in their name.

In addition to using £412,000 of criminal money to purchase the house in the sought after area of Solihull, Khan used a further £175,000 of criminal monies to pay off a previous Proceeds of Crime order. This order had arisen after Khan had been convicted previously of Money Laundering. He paid off the order with yet more criminal money despite, at the time, being subject of a suspended sentence.