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Athif Sarwar |
Athif Sarwar, managing director of United Wholesale (Scotland), has been sentenced to three years in jail after being convicted of an £845,000 money laundering scam.
Mansoor Khan, assistant manager of United’s Maxwell Road branch, who had been jointly accused with Sarwar, was found not guilty of any involvement.
Glasgow High Court was told the offences took place in 2003 when Sarwar received cash, described as criminal property, into the company’s business account.
The money was then concealed, disguised or converted before it was transferred as either cash or goods to an unknown person.
Sarwar denied the allegations and said he would have done nothing that would damage the reputation of his father, the Labour MP Mohommad Sarwar.
Athif, a marketing graduate, said he had put all his efforts into marketing the company after taking over as managing director in 2002, and he left accounting and banking to those under him.
Speaking after the verdict, Mohammad Sarwar told the BBC: “We will contest the verdict. There was no shred of evidence to convict.”
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