Man found with £120,000 in cash in Wigan appears in court

A man who claimed he had a bin bag full of nearly £120,000 in cash to start a souvenir business has admitted money laundering.
By The Newsroom
Published 17th Jan 2019, 11:22 BST
Updated 18th Jan 2019, 01:34 BST
The money was in a bin bagThe money was in a bin bag
The money was in a bin bag

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers caught Sayd Mstafa Ali, previously known as Adam Barzhinji, with the money in July 2016, when he was sitting in the passenger seat of a Renault Clio parked behind a property on Duke Street, Goose Green.

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The 37-year-old claimed the cash was from property transactions in Kurdistan and would be used to fund his new business.

Nearly 120,000 was seizedNearly 120,000 was seized
Nearly 120,000 was seized

He did not contest the £119,840 cash being seized by HMRC, which was forfeited to the Crown on December 14, 2016.

He has now appeared before a judge at Bolton Crown Court, where he admitted money laundering.

Ali, of Oldfield Grove, in Bermondsey, south London, was sentenced to 21 months in jail, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work.

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Paul Maybury, assistant director of HMRC's fraud investigation service, said: “Ali thought he could get away with breaking the law by smuggling cash, but he was wrong and is now paying the price with a criminal record. The cash seized, almost £120,000, is the equivalent to the starting salary of four new nurses in London.

“We encourage anyone with information regarding money laundering to report it to HMRC online or contact our fraud hotline on 0800 788 887.”