Fraud Specialist Solicitors Defend Woman Accused of International Money Laundering

Stuart Miller Solicitor’s client, a graphic designer at a designer shoe company, was charged with Money Laundering amounting to over £1,100,00 between the UK and Vietnam.

Ms B was charged with a 4-count indictment that included charges of, money laundering, the cultivation of cannabis, the concealment of criminal property and the conversion of criminal property. It was also alleged that Ms B and her co-defendants trafficked workers into the UK from Vietnam and other places in association with the conversion of criminal property.

During the investigation £47,000 in cash was seized from her home address and around £416,000 from her bank accounts was subsequently frozen by The Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Ms B was 15 when she arrived in the UK alone to finish her secondary studies and begin a degree in graphic design at Manchester University. Over ten years later, Ms B is a successful graphic designer, with a master’s, working at a designer shoe company.

As a fashion enthusiast her whole life, and to make more cash, Ms B began an online Facebook Marketplace store that sold designer shoes to Vietnamese nationals overseas.

The money would be transferred from customers to Ms B’s mother or father’s account due to the heavy regulations on money transfers in Vietnam, a primarily cash-based economic society. She employed the services of a Vietnamese money service agent to help her in this process.

The Crown Prosecution Service alleged that the money created by Ms B’s second business and received from her family members was generated from the proceeds of crime during the alleged production and concealment of cannabis. The money service agent placed in Ms B’s account was illegally accumulated, according to CPS.

Reem Khatib, Stuart Miller Solicitor’s Specialist Fraud Lawyer, conducted tireless work over 6 years that culminated in a 41-day trial to defend the innocence of Ms B and have her assets returned to her.

Reem Khatib presented clear, unshakable evidence that proved to the jury and judges the legitimacy of Ms B’s online business. This evidence included the transactions she made with customers and the cash she received from family members.

As a result, Stuart Miller Solicitor’s client received her hard-earned money back and her assets were unfrozen.