Two men have been sentenced for their roles in a £266 million money laundering operation described by police as one of the largest investigations of its kind in UK legal history.

Baqa Haider, 51, of Bob Marley Way, Lambeth, London, was jailed for six years at Leeds Crown Court.

Nathan Rivers, 45, of Rathmell Road, Leeds, was handed a 27-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to comply with a curfew.

The sentences follow a major investigation by West Yorkshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit which began in 2016 and uncovered huge quantities of cash being transported across the country.

Investigators found couriers were regularly delivering bags containing large amounts of cash to Bradford-based scrap jewellery company Fowler Oldfield Ltd.

Police said the money was processed at the premises before being deposited into bank accounts.

At the height of the operation, as much as £1.7 million in cash was being processed in a single day.

The money was subsequently used to purchase high-purity gold grain which investigators said was shipped to Dubai using false shipping invoices.

Hatton Garden premises raided

The operation was also linked to Pure Nines Ltd in London’s Hatton Garden.

When officers raided the premises, police said they discovered evidence suggesting the site was being used primarily to count large quantities of cash rather than conduct legitimate gold trading.

Years of detailed financial investigation and analysis followed as detectives worked to establish the movement of the money and identify those involved.

Haider and Rivers were eventually convicted of money laundering following a trial which concluded in July.

Proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act are now continuing against all those convicted, which could result in attempts to recover criminal assets.

West Yorkshire Police said the case represented the force’s largest ever economic crime investigation and is believed to be the largest investigation into the laundering of criminal cash in UK legal history.

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