April 10, 2025
Following a 6 week trial Michael Goodwin KC and Anita Clifford secured convictions against a company director and two other individuals responsible for operating a multi-million pound sophisticated and professional Iranian money laundering network in London. The money laundering cell which had links with Iran and Dubai, provided a service which ‘washed’ criminal cash including by the use of unregistered crypto traders.
The money laundering cell was responsible for washing millions of pounds of criminal cash through a basement located in Kilburn, North London. A foreign exchange company, Wirmon Ltd, was used a cover for the money laundering. The company operated as a Money Service Bureau (“MSB”) and came to be licenced by the FCA, and supervised for Anti-Money Laundering compliance by HMRC. The company also was said to have partnership links with the global foreign exchange business: Sarafi Bahmani Exchange, trading at the time in Iran, Dubai, and Canada.
Cash consignments were collected and delivered nationally and throughout London, and were the subject of a Met Police surveillance operation between November 2020 and March 2021. The prosecution case also involved the investigation of AML compliance procedures, and AML regulatory conduct. Expert complex forensic accounting of the company books, which had been “cooked” in an attempt to try and legitimise the cash movements and conversions of dirty cash into crypto assets.
The defendants Pouya Bostani, Nima Moeini and Mohammed Manoucheri were convicted of conspiracy to transfer and or convert criminal property. The defence case was rejected by the jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court, including the claim that the business was operating a legitimate Hawala based foreign exchange service remitting cash abroad.
Following the trial the defendants were sentenced on 3 April 2025 to between 6 years and 3 months to 7 years imprisonment. Pouya Bostani was disqualified as a director for 8 years.
Michael Goodwin KC and Anita Clifford were instructed by the CPS.
