Southwark Crown Court Sentencing Results

Between 2012 and 2016, Dharam Prakash Gopee acted as an illegal money lender without a consumer credit licence or FCA authorisation. He loaned approximately £1 million to vulnerable consumers at high rates, securing loans against their property and seeking possession on default. He took in at least £2 million in payments. He had previously been banned as a company director for 15 years in 2016 and imprisoned for contempt of court (18 months in 2016 and 15 months in 2017) for breaching a restraint order.

Dominic Chappell, who bought BHS for £1 in 2015, was convicted of deliberately evading £584,000 in tax through his company Swiss Rock Limited. He failed to file VAT returns for 17 months from March 2015, evading £343,511 in VAT, and underpaid Corporation Tax and Income Tax on a hidden £330,000 dividend. Despite debts, he spent on yachts, cars and holidays. He was prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service following an HMRC investigation.

Fabiana Abdel-Malek was employed as a senior compliance officer by UBS AG in London and abused her position to access inside information which she passed to Walid Choucair. She was convicted of five offences of insider dealing in 2013/4.

Mayowa Christopher was part of an organised group that tricked trade customers and individuals into paying money into wrong bank accounts by pretending to work for their bank or legitimate businesses. Linked to offences including one in July 2019 where a woman was defrauded of £4,200 after scammers demonstrated knowledge of her direct debits and sent fake emails with one-time passwords. Also linked to two other victims losing £7,369 total, with evidence of his computer used to access accounts and bank cards used to launder money.

Mark Lyttleton, a former Equity Portfolio Manager at BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, used inside information obtained through his employment to instruct trades via a Panamanian company (Huduno Invest S.A.) set up in his wife’s maiden name. He traded in EnCore Oil Plc shares (realising profits of £44,125) and Cairn Energy Plc call options in 2011, concealing the activity with unregistered phones and cash payments. He was arrested in 2013 following an FCA investigation.

Michael Konnor headed a gang that laundered £23.4 million between January 2018 and June 2020. Despite arrest in December 2019, he continued laundering over £4.5 million using companies and third-party accounts. Incriminating EncroChat messages discussed kidnap and extortion in the context of cash collection.

Martyn Dodgson, a senior investment banker employed by Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers and Deutsche Bank, conspired with Andrew Hind to commit insider dealing between November 2006 and March 2010. Dodgson sourced inside information from the investment banks and passed it to Hind, who carried out secret dealing for their mutual benefit. The pair used unregistered mobile phones, encoded records and cash payments to avoid detection. The FCA proved five specific acts of insider dealing involving Scottish & Newcastle plc, Paragon Group of Companies plc, Just Retirement plc, Legal & General plc and BSkyB plc.

Mahrah Al Nahyan admitted child neglect after being found incapacitated near railings in west London on June 13, 2026, while a three-year-old child was left unsupervised near a busy road. She had used cocaine in the days before the incident. The sentencing hearing took place at Southwark Crown Court, where she received a two-year community order with a rehabilitation requirement, a £5,000 fine, and an order to pay £1,000 in prosecution costs.

Former chief executive officer of collapsed investment firm London Capital & Finance plc (LCF), Michael Thomson, sold luxury items including horse saddles and a hot tub while under court restrictions imposed by a Serious Fraud Office restraint order. This is part of an SFO investigation into suspected fraud at LCF that led to 11,000 investors losing over £237m between 2014 and 2019.

Mohammed Zina was found guilty of six offences of insider dealing and three offences of fraud following a 12-week trial at Southwark Crown Court brought by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). He was sentenced to 22 months in prison.

Laura Lee admitted cheating at gambling by placing bets on the date of the 2024 general election. She and her husband stood to win more than £23,000 had their cheating not been uncovered.

Laura Saunders was head of international at Conservative Campaign Headquarters and had been selected to stand in the Bristol North West constituency. She and her husband placed bets worth more than £2,000 on the date of the 2024 general election after inside information was received from a Downing Street meeting.

Kavaljitsinh Raijada, 35, from Hanwell in Ealing, along with his partner, operated a front company called Viefly Freight Services to export 514kg of cocaine worth up to £57 million to Australia concealed in metal toolboxes on commercial flights. The drugs were part of 15 cocaine consignments among 37 total shipments since June 2019. Raijada had worked at a Heathrow flight services company and used his knowledge of freight procedures. His fingerprints were on the packaging and toolbox receipts were found at their home. He was arrested in June 2021 and again in February 2023. Large amounts of cash and assets were seized, including nearly £3 million hidden in a storage unit rented in his mother's name.

Julian Rifat, a former senior execution trader and portfolio strategist at Moore Europe Capital Management LLC, passed inside information obtained during his employment to an associate, Graeme Shelley, who then traded for their joint benefit. This occurred during the latter half of 2009 and related to some of the largest transactions in the UK financial markets.

Participated in a complex VAT fraud against HMRC between January 2011 and March 2014, using fake Voice Over Internet Protocol airtime trades to offset VAT owed by a Midlands-based company from genuine trade in electrical goods and wholesale metals, resulting in more than £20 million being withheld from the public revenue.

Oerta Korfuzi received inside information from her brother Redinel Korfuzi, a research analyst at Janus Henderson, and traded in 13 stocks between 17 December 2019 and 25 March 2021, generating over £960,000 in profit. She was arrested in March 2021. The case involved insider dealing and an international money laundering operation with deposits into accounts in the UK and Albania.

Paul Milsom, an FSA approved person employed by Legal and General Investment Management (Holdings) Ltd, disclosed inside information relating to forthcoming transactions in securities by LGIM between October 2008 and March 2010. A confiscation order of £245,000 was also made.

Raj Von Badlo pleaded guilty to recklessly making false representations to investors and promoting a collective investment scheme without authorisation. Over 75 investors gave £4.29 million to Hope as a result of Von Badlo’s actions. He was sentenced on the same date as his co-defendant.

Richard Baldwin laundered criminal property between October 2007 and November 2008, representing the proceeds of a conspiracy to insider deal by Martyn Dodgson and Andrew Hind. He used off-shore companies, bank accounts and false invoices to effect the money laundering, including receiving £1.5 million into a Panamanian company account in Zurich explained by a false invoice. He also breached a Restraint Order made in June 2011 by disposing of assets including withdrawing cash in Geneva and dealing with assets in safety deposit boxes.

Richard Faithfull was found guilty of money laundering, contrary to s.327 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, as part of a trans-national organised crime group laundering the proceeds of at least 7 professionally run overseas investment frauds. He was sentenced to 5 years and 10 months imprisonment and disqualified from being a company director for 10 years.

Richard Joseph, a former futures trader, was provided with confidential and price-sensitive information from two investment banks concerning proposed or forthcoming takeover bids by Ersin Mustafa, a print room manager at JP Morgan Cazenove. Joseph placed spread bets between September 2007 and July 2008 resulting in a net profit of £591,117. Attempts were made to disguise the receipt of information using numerous Pay As You Go mobile telephones and webmail drop boxes. The information was used in the expectation that share prices would rise when made public.

Ryan Willmott, former group reporting and financial planning manager for Logica PLC, admitted dealing on the basis of inside information obtained during his employment relating to the takeover of Logica PLC by CGI Group, announced on 31 May 2012. He set up a trading account in the name of a former girlfriend without her knowledge and disclosed inside information to a family friend who dealt on behalf of both. He pleaded guilty on 26 February 2015.

Robert Clothier engaged in an online sting leading to charges of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, making indecent images of children, distributing an image of a child, and possessing prohibited images of children. He was remanded in custody since April 2013.

Involved in money laundering connected to a VAT fraud in which fake Voice Over Internet Protocol airtime trades were used to offset VAT owed by a Midlands-based company, contributing to more than £20 million being withheld from HMRC between January 2011 and March 2014.

Satish Kotinadhuni recruited mule bank accounts from dishonest individuals and vulnerable people on social media for a gang running a £10 million email payment diversion fraud. The gang monitored hacked accounts and spoofed emails to redirect large transfers.

He acted as an accomplice to the leader of a large investment fraud and transferred approximately £2.5 million in cryptocurrency on her behalf. Metropolitan Police surveillance of him led to the principal offender being located in York. Both were arrested in April 2024; assets seized included encrypted devices, cash, gold and further cryptocurrency.

Shiraz Khan was the co-head of a gang that laundered £23.4 million between January 2018 and June 2020. After arrest in December 2019, he continued laundering over £4.5 million, adapting tactics to use third-party companies and accounts. Encrypted messages discussed kidnap of a debtor's son to secure payment.

Stuart Bayes was convicted of 2 counts of insider dealing (one of dealing and one of encouraging his friend Jonathan Swann to deal) following an 8-week trial. He was found guilty on 28 March 2024 and sentenced on 10 May 2024 at Southwark Crown Court in a prosecution brought by the Financial Conduct Authority.