Three men have been caught red-handed in a staggering £17 million cash laundering scam after a lengthy investigation by West Midlands Police. The trio used sneaky daily cash deposits at Birmingham Post Offices and shuffled dirty money through business accounts to stay under the radar.
£200k Daily Deposits Uncovered
Shazad Jahan, 45, Naveed Gul, 47, and Sajid Nawaz, 59, pleaded guilty at Birmingham Crown Court on January 23. Between 2021 and 2022, they dumped up to £200,000 in cash every single day. The filthy funds were cleverly moved through a maze of company accounts to hide their illegal origins.
Mastermind Jahan and Co-Conspirators Nabbed
The police probe revealed Jahan as the ringleader. He organised the criminal network via a WhatsApp group, assigned deposit runs, and transferred cash through company accounts set up just to launder the cash. He was busted at Birmingham Airport returning from Dubai, with damning evidence found on his phone.
Gul, a company director, controlled a major bank account through which more than £2.5 million was funnelled. Despite protesting his innocence, the evidence doomed him.
Big Bust, Huge Cash Seized, and a Warning
- £867,000 frozen through account seizure orders
- £100,000 cash seized during arrests plus £9,000 recovered from linked properties
- Cryptocurrency exchange and banking platform linked to the gang shut down after FCA stepped in
Jahan was locked up for five years and five months. Gul was sentenced to four years and three months. Nawaz received a two-year suspended sentence. Another suspect skipped court, with a warrant now out for his arrest.
“This case shows police don’t give up. Anyone trying to exploit the financial system will be caught,” said Senior Investigating Officer Jonathan Jones.
West Midlands Police urge anyone with information on financial crime to call 101 or use their website’s live chat.
