Two jailed in £266m gold money laundering scheme linked to Dubai

Baqa Haider and Nathan Rivers were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court for their roles in the UK's largest criminal cash laundering investigation. Gold was exported to Dubai using fake invoices.

Bradford jewellery firm at centre of UK's biggest cash laundering case

Two men have been sentenced for their roles in a £266m money-laundering operation run through a scrap jewellery business in Bradford, Google News UAE — Dubai reports, citing BBC coverage of proceedings at Leeds Crown Court.

Baqa Haider, 51, of Bob Marley Way, Lambeth, was jailed for six years. Nathan Rivers, 45, of Hazelwood Drive, Leeds, received a 27-month sentence suspended for two years, along with a curfew imposed by the judge. Both were convicted of money laundering.

West Yorkshire Police described the scheme as operating on an "industrial scale." Cash was processed through bags and used to purchase gold grain, which was then exported to Dubai accompanied by fraudulent invoices. Haider was responsible for producing the bogus paperwork and arranging the exports, while Rivers worked on site at the Fowler Oldfield jewellery premises on Hall Lane, Bradford.

From £11,000 to £95m

The operation began in 2013. Police launched their investigation in 2016 after a security company raised concerns about a sharp daily increase in the volume of cash being collected from the Fowler Oldfield site by its staff. Bank records showed the cash flowing into the company's accounts had climbed from £11,000 in 2012 to more than £650,000 the following year. By 2015, payments into the firm had reached £95m.

In September 2016, officers searched the Bradford premises and two London businesses, including Pure Nines Ltd — a linked company based in Hatton Garden — arresting 16 people and seizing cash and gold valued at more than £4m. A total of 146 bars of counterfeit gold were recovered from Pure Nines Ltd, which police said was intended to give the impression of a legitimate gold dealership rather than a front for laundering criminal funds.

The court heard that most of the money channelled into Fowler Oldfield passed through Pure Nines Ltd, directed by an international money launderer based in Dubai. The Economic Crime Unit's investigation involved forensic examination of invoices, emails and paperwork, as well as review of more than 8,000 hours of CCTV footage. In total, more than £266m was paid into Fowler Oldfield's NatWest accounts between January 2014 and September 2016.

Specialist officers described it as the largest investigation into the laundering of criminal cash in UK legal history.

Four others previously sentenced

Four additional men were found guilty of money laundering in March 2025. Fowler Oldfield director Daniel Rawson, 49, of Syke Green, Scarcroft — the only one present in court — was jailed for 10 years and 10 months. Fellow director Gregory Frankel, 48, from Shipley, received 11 years and eight months in his absence. Haroon Rashid, 56, of Toller Lane, Bradford, was sentenced to 10 years in absentia, and Arjun Babber, 34, of Trevor Place, Westminster, was handed an 11-year term, also in his absence.

West Yorkshire Police said inquiries were continuing to locate the three absconders and pursue their extradition to the United Kingdom.

Pure Nines Ltd owner Samir Jagirdar pleaded guilty to money laundering before the trial and is due to be sentenced at a later date. A separate trial for Gary Smith, 62, of Apperley Bridge, Bradford — charged with failing to report suspicious activity in connection with money laundering — is scheduled to begin at Leeds Crown Court on 1 February 2027.

NatWest fined £265m

In December 2021, NatWest was fined almost £265m following a prosecution brought by the Financial Conduct Authority for failures to comply with money laundering regulations linked to the same case.

Ramona Senior, head of the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit, said those convicted had taken part in "an operation that was laundering criminal cash on a truly industrial scale." She added: "Behind every bank note that went through their fingers is the harm that serious and organised crime causes in our communities."

Source: Google News UAE — Dubai