LONDON (Reuters) – Four men were convicted on Tuesday of laundering more than 200 pounds ($255 million) in proceeds from organised crime though their gold dealership in northern England, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
The cash was couriered in holdalls or carrier bags from around Britain to Fowler Oldfield’s premises in Bradford and elsewhere, and paid into its NatWest bank account for the purchase of gold, prosecutors said.
West Yorkshire Police, which led the investigation, said that, shortly before police raided Fowler Oldfield in September 2016, an average of 1.7 million pounds came into its offices every day.
NatWest had already pleaded guilty in 2021 to failing to monitor Fowler Oldfield properly, which a judge who fined the bank 265 million pounds said allowed the laundering to happen.
Hannah Von Dadelszen from the CPS said the case, heard at Leeds Crown Court, was “one of the largest money laundering prosecutions ever brought to the courts in England and Wales”.
Assistant Chief Constable Pat Twiggs of West Yorkshire Police said that “this cash is linked to organised crime activity, including drugs and wider criminality”.
Two former Fowler Oldfield directors, Gregory Frankel and Daniel Rawson, both 46, were found guilty, along with Haroon Rashid, 53, and Arjun Babber, 32. They will be sentenced on Friday.
James Stunt, 43, the former son-in-law of Formula 1 motor racing tycoon Bernie Ecclestone, was acquitted of the same charge.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; additional reporting by Sinead Cruise; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
