An Iranian man has been convicted of using a carpet business as a front for a money-laundering operation linked to small boats.
Asghar Gheshalghian, 48, acted as a trusted middleman, accepting payments from migrants or their families, according to the UK’s National Crime Agency.
He then released money to the criminal gangs following the completion of their journeys to the UK, charging a commission at the same time.
Phone evidence showed links with at least eight Iranian migrants who later arrived in the UK by boat or lorry and claimed asylum.
Gheshalghian also ran an unregistered money services business from an office block in Wood Green, North London, as part of a network of bankers transferring money using the hawala system.
His conviction comes after Hewa Rahimpur, who also acted as a hawala banker for people-trafficking gangs and smuggled 10,000 migrants across the English Channel in small boats, earning up to £260,000 ($329,650) per trip, was sentenced to 11 years in a Belgian jail.
Following a two-year investigation by the NCA, the UK equivalent of the FBI, Gheshalghian was arrested in February 2021 with footage showing the moment police walked into his office and handcuffed him.
After his arrest, the NCA searched his business premises, a storage lock-up and his home in East Ham, seizing about £50,000 in cash. Officers also recovered ledgers outlining transactions, while financial investigators traced £1.6 million in payments into his bank accounts.
NCA branch commander Mark Howes said disrupting and dismantling people-smuggling gangs by their financial flows through agents such as Gheshalghian was a priority for the NCA.
“By his own admission Asghar Gheshalghian was trusted by organised crime gangs to handle their payments and launder the money they made through organising dangerous Channel boat and lorry crossings,” said Mr Howes.
“In doing so he enabled their criminality and happily took a cut from the profits they made from it. Crossing the Channel illegally in boats or lorries is extremely dangerous, sadly in recent days and weeks we have seen it can have fatal consequences.”
Evidence was also obtained from an ITV documentary in which undercover reporters approached a people smuggler in northern France, who discussed sending money through a broker called “Mr G” – Gheshalghian.
After a two-week trial at Southwark Crown Court in London, Gheshalghian was found guilty of five counts of money laundering and facilitating illegal immigration. He will be sentenced on January 24.
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CONCRETE COWBOY
Directed by: Ricky Staub
Starring: Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Jharrel Jerome
3.5/5 stars
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The British in India: Three Centuries of Ambition and Experience
by David Gilmour
Allen Lane
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GROUPS
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
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Games on BeIN Sports
Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club race card
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Schedule:
Pakistan v Sri Lanka:
28 Sep-2 Oct, 1st Test, Abu Dhabi
6-10 Oct, 2nd Test (day-night), Dubai
13 Oct, 1st ODI, Dubai
16 Oct, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
18 Oct, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi
20 Oct, 4th ODI, Sharjah
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26 Oct, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
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29 Oct, 3rd T20I, Lahore
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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