A man who was convicted of money laundering in 2008 and his wife have agreed to hand over £337,500 after the Crown Prosecution Service uncovered that he had been using unexplained funds to finance a property empire.

The CPS, working in collaboration with the East Midlands Police Serious Organised Crime Unit , obtained evidence that could show Simon and Joanne Cudbill used undeclared and unlawfully obtained income and ongoing unexplained cash sources—to fund a long-running property acquisition, renovation, and resale operation from 2009 to 2023.

Following Simon Cudbill’s release from prison in 2010 he and his wife began purchasing and renovating properties at great expense.

Their Leicestershire property redevelopments generated large profits whilst Cudbill failed to declare any income, rental earnings, or paying capital gains tax. Properties were often placed in the names of family members to conceal ownership and evade tax, and the proceeds were reinvested or held in multiple bank accounts.

The couple could not demonstrate a source of income for the money originally used to start the scheme.

Using the civil recovery powers available to us, the Crown Prosecution Service began proceedings to obtain a Civil Recovery Order, ensuring that the Cudbills could not profit from their unlawful conduct.

After negotiations, the Cudbills have paid the sum of £337,500.

Adrian Foster, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division said:

“After his conviction Simon Cudbill, and his wife Joanne, tried to continue benefitting from his previous criminal lifestyle.

“We have used our civil recovery powers to show that they had no legitimate source for this money and have robustly pursued money from unlawful conduct without needing a conviction.

“These powers allowed us to ensure that they could not continue to benefit from their ill-gotten gains.” 

Notes to editors

• Simon Cudbill (DOB: 23/04/1970) and Joanne Cudbill (DOB 23/12/1974) of Anstey, Leicester agreed to a settlement of £337,500, this has been paid in full.
• These proceedings were brought by the Civil Recovery Team, CPS Proceeds of Crime Division. This unit uses the specialist civil powers available to the Director of Public Prosecutions under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to pursue illicitly obtained assets and money using the civil courts without a criminal conviction.
• The CPS Proceeds of Crime Division has in the last five years, recovered £478 million from Confiscation Orders, ensuring that thousands of convicted criminals cannot profit from their offending. Over £95 million of that amount has been returned to victims of crime, by way of compensation.