Car dealer’s hidden assets to be forfeited

A Leeds car dealer convicted of selling ‘clocked’ vehicles has agreed to surrender an additional £146,000 after the National Crime Agency (NCA) identified that he had paid his original confiscation order with hidden assets.

Akif Rashid Butt, 52, was ordered to pay £154,000 in 2009 following his conviction.

At the time he was assessed to have benefitted by around £890,000, but only a fraction of that amount was identified as recoverable assets.

Following a hearing at Bradford Crown Court on 13 November, Butt agreed by consent to surrender the additional money.

Butt was originally arrested in 2006 when it was found he had been purchasing high mileage cars, and having the meters of the vehicles significantly reduced so that he could sell them at a higher price to unaware customers.

He pleaded guilty to 15 offences relating to 12 ‘clocked’ vehicles, and received six months imprisonment and a Confiscation Order to forfeit the proceeds of his crimes.

The Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) carried out the confiscation investigation which assessed a criminal benefit of £890,471.80.

The Confiscation Order of £154,000 was based on Butt’s assessed available assets across three properties and £5,000 in his bank account. This was satisfied in full by October 2010.

A financial investigation by the NCA’s Asset Confiscation Enforcement team identified that despite paying the required sum, Butt had still retained assets on which the original confiscation order was based.

Butt had forfeited interest in one property to the value of £50,000, but retained the other two properties assessed for the order, with equity valued at £98,930 at the time. The confiscation order had been paid utilising other funds.

At the court hearing last week, Butt accepted the available amount in the confiscation order granted in 2009 be increased to £300,000 in light of his retention of property and the uncovering of new assets.

As Butt had already paid £154,000 towards the order, he now needs to pay an additional £146,000.

The amount is to be paid within three months, with a period of 27 months imprisonment in default.

Andy Lewis, head of asset denial at the NCA, said: “Over ten years had passed since Mr Butt was served his initial confiscation order, and it’s likely he thought that he had got away with retaining assets subject of the original confiscation order.

“This should serve as a reminder to criminals that there is a debt to be paid for criminal activity, and the NCA are relentless in their pursuit of criminal assets.”