Belfast: Ten sentenced over £20m money laundering scheme
BBCTen people have been sentenced over a £20m money laundering scheme after an investigation found significant sums of cash laundered via NI-based accounts.
The six men and four women are Chinese nationals and all of them lived in Belfast at the time of the offences.
The judge at Belfast Crown Court said "staggering amounts of cash" were seized from some of the accused.
Seven of the defendants were jailed for their role in the scheme while the other three got suspended sentences.
The offences were uncovered during an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) which involved a number of UK-based financial institutions.
"This case involved classic laundering of criminal property on behalf of an organised criminal gang," the judge told the court.
"The defendants received frequent bundles of cash and followed instructions on where the funds were to be transferred."
"The measure of the huge sums involved and the trust bestowed on each of these defendants can be gleaned from the staggering amounts of cash seized from many of the defendants when their properties or their person were searched," the judge added.
Caught on CCTV
During the case, it emerged that a branch of Barclays bank in Belfast was being used by the defendants to make frequent large cash deposits.
They were caught on CCTV using the same bank - some on a daily basis - to lodge various amounts of money between January 2018 and July 2019.
This was done using an internal branch automated service device (ASD) that enables bank account holders to deposit cash into other accounts via the use of bank cards and PIN numbers.
Following arrests in July 2019, 10 suspects were charged with offences including converting criminal property, possessing criminal property and entering an arrangement to acquire criminal property.
Those sentenced on Monday were:
- Zhu Lin, a 35-year-old mother of two from Broadway in Belfast, who was described by the judge as being "at the heart" of the local operation and was given a 32-month sentence.
- Qing Wen Lin, a 39-year-old mother of two from Iris Street in Belfast who was handed a two-year sentence.
- Her 45-year-old husband, Long Quang Yu, also from Iris Street, who claimed he became involved due to a gambling addiction and was sentenced to 20 months.
- Wen Qin Lin, a 47-year-old man from Glandore Avenue, who played a lesser part but has a previous conviction for fraud and so was given an 18-month sentence.
- Ling Ling Zheng, a 38-year-old mother of two from Vernon Street, Belfast, received a 16-month sentence.
- Yong Wu Chen, a 38-year old father-of-two from Duncairn Avenue, who involved his relatives in the offending and was handed a 28-month sentence.
- His father, 70-year old Yanzhong Chen from Ladbrook Drive. The elderly defendant was arrested 10 days after arriving in Northern Ireland and got a 16-month suspended sentence.
- Yanzhong Chen's 63-year-old wife Aihua He, also of Ladbrook Drive, who had bundles of cash in her handbag when she was arrested at the bank. She also got a 16-month suspended sentence.
- Gengqi Wang, a 32-year-old man from the Falls Road, who was described as a "naive and vulnerable man" brought into the scheme by others. He too got a 16-month suspended sentence.
- Shim Ing Chen, a 51-year-old man from Donegall Road who was also "bought in at the behest of others" and played a limited role. He got a 12-month suspended sentence.
The prosecution had argued that while it could not be ascertained exactly what criminal offences the cash involved related to, it was "likely" there were links to drugs, human trafficking, prostitution and tax evasion.
The judge said it was accepted that although none of the 10 defendants were involved in the higher echelons of the organised gang involved in the £20m laundering scheme, there was no doubt the cash involved was linked to the proceeds of crime.
The seven people who were sent to prison will serve half their sentence in jail and half on licenced release.
A further two co-accused will be sentenced at a later date.
'Substantial amount of cash'
Detective Ch Insp Ian Wilson from the Police Service of Northern Ireland's Economic Crime Unit, welcomed the sentencing.
"Together with officers from neighbourhood and local policing teams and colleagues from the Police Service of Northern Ireland's Operational Support Department, we carried out a large scale search and arrest operation targeting individuals suspected of money laundering through bank accounts," he said.
"During the investigation a substantial amount of cash was seized from the offenders.
"Money laundering is often a critical enabler of organised criminality and we are committed to putting those involved in money laundering activities before the courts," he added.
