Money laundering law news 09/09/2008 Proceeds of Crime Act hearing to follow builder convictions in Kent

Three Kent builders were sentenced last week for offences including conspiracy to defraud and money laundering; a fourth, who has absconded, was convicted in his absence. A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing is scheduled for December to recover the money taken and return it to the mens victims.

The conviction results from a two-year inquiry into the building company, B Smith and Sons, by Kent police, on which the forces Serious Economic Crime Unit worked closely with the Crime Investigation Team.

The trial that followed this inquiry demonstrated that the owner of this firm had used intimidatory tactics to defraud elderly and vulnerable people out of more than £800,000 across the county, leading him to receive a sentence of eight years and four months in prison for conspiracy to defraud elderly and vulnerable people.

A second man, the son of the firms owner, was also convicted on charges of fraud and money laundering, receiving two consecutive sentences of imprisonment of twelve and eighteen months on the first charges, and a two-year sentence on the latter.

The judge indicated that the sons sentence would have been longer were it not for matters put before the court. It was held that the father had been a strong corrupting influence, and that the son had not known that bank accounts opened for him as a child were being used for money laundering.

The money was shown to have also been laundered through Emplex Building Limited, a separate company owned by another of the convicted men. It was argued by the defence that, although this man had allowed more than £200,000 to pass through his business account, he had retained none of the proceeds of crime. He was sentenced to four years and six months.

News « Proceeds of Crime news - Three sentenced over money laundering and fraud

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