Sandeep Gill was jailed for six years in June 2016 following an HMRC investigation. Gill laundered criminal cash through a string of bank accounts in Portugal, the Cape Verde Islands, Jersey, Cyprus, and finally into his Swiss bank accounts.

Gill was convicted of two counts of transferring criminal property totalling £621,151 in May 2016 at Isleworth Crown Court. A confiscation hearing earlier this month concluded he had benefited by more than £6.3m from criminal conduct, but his current realisable assets including property are just over £1m. HMRC will be able to pursue any future wealth.

Gill laundered money through the online banking service Universal Mercantile Building Society EF (UMBS). Its sister-company UMBS Online was an illegal online banking facility, which was convicted of illegal trading in March 2011, and was used by criminals to move dirty money between bank accounts. More than £6.5m was secured from UMBS Online at the time of their conviction in 2011.

Gill helped legitimise the financial transactions of account holders by producing false bank statements and documents. He used the cash to fund a wealthy lifestyle including buying property, foreign holidays, and Rolex watches. During HMRC’s investigation £82,000 was discovered in a safety deposit box in London and £15,850 was seized from a safe at his home.

Nicol Sheppard, assistant director, fraud investigation service, HMRC, said: ‘Our work doesn’t stop when a criminal is jailed. No matter how complex a money laundering investigation is or how many different bank accounts are used, we will stop criminals profiting from their crimes and recover the money to fund public services.

‘Gill is already serving a six year prison sentence. If he doesn’t pay back what he owes, he will spend even more time behind bars - and still owe the money.’

Report by Pat Sweet