Mohd Azizul Ramli 2 Report post Posted November 24, 2018 A Malaysian air steward has been jailed for 12 months for money laundering in Britain after he was caught trying to smuggle £150,000 (RM807,300) in cash out of the country. The National Crime Agency (NCA), a British law enforcement agency, reported that Muhamad Aziz, 37, had been sentenced to 12 months' jail after pleading guilty to money laundering charges at the Isleworth Crown Court last Thursday (Nov 22). The report said Muhamad Aziz was about to fly on a flight from London to Kuala Lumpur when he was stopped by security officers at Heathrow Terminal 4 airport. It said the officer then had alerted Border Force personnel after they found £100,000 (RM538,200) cash in a roller bag and £50,000 (RM269,100) in a black suit carrier when they were scanning his bags. Muhamad Aziz and the cash amounting to £150,000 (RM807,300) found in his possession. – Pix from NCA website According to the report, Muhamad Aziz claimed he had brought the money in from abroad into the UK. He also said he had initially wanted to spend the money on handbags and watches in Harrods, a department store. However, Muhamad Aziz claimed that he was unable to spend the money as he was "too tired". The report added that he had also refused to explain two receipts he had from apparel store Primark, which was issued on the same day, including a customer registration card from a Malaysian money exchange bureau. The report added that the Heathrow NCA operations manager Ian Truby had said that Muhamad Aziz's story was "so far fetched as to be almost laughable". "He was a cabin crew member for 15 years and would well have known the regulations about carrying cash into and out of the country. It seems that he decided to use that employment as a cover for his criminality. "Organised criminals rely on cash couriers like Muhamad Aziz to move their profits around – his was a key role in a long criminal chain – so tackling this illicit flow of money is a priority for us and our partners. "The money found here will be forfeited under the Proceeds of Crime Act," Truby was quoted as saying. According to the report, Heathrow Border Force director Nick Jariwalla had said the cash which was forfeited would be returned to the public's coffers. Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/11/24/mas-air-steward-gets-12-months-jail-in-britain/#WefcJL1wcsXCrIAv.99 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Radzi 2 Report post Posted November 26, 2018 "According to the report, Muhamad Aziz claimed he had brought the money in from abroad into the UK. He also said he had initially wanted to spend the money on handbags and watches in Harrods, a department store. However, Muhamad Aziz claimed that he was unable to spend the money as he was "too tired"." Yeah right, pay cash for all those purchases. Never heard of debit/credit cards? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flee 5 Report post Posted November 26, 2018 Credit cards use lousy exchange rates? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mohd Azizul Ramli 2 Report post Posted November 26, 2018 To share with the forum: 1. Bringing cash in and out of the UK. The cap is EUR10,000. https://www.gov.uk/bringing-cash-into-uk 2. London is a truly contactless city (the equivalent term in Malaysia is paywave). People pay by contactless (paywave) everywhere for everything (cap to £30 per transaction at the moment). Paying by cash is antiquated and is no longer a way of life. 3. Even if he managed to go to Harrods to spend those £150,000 for handbags and watches, he may still be nabbed under the UWO (Unexplained Wealth Order). The UWO made huge headlines in the UK last month after a wife of an Azerbaijani banker was arrested for spending £16 million in Harrods. She once spent £150,000 a day in Harrods, the same amount Muhamad Aziz planned to spend in his short layover spree. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45812210 4. Harrods doesn't mix with Primark. He claimed to be Harrods but his look, job and overall profile is Primark (with a receipt to prove). I think that's why the NCA manager regarded his story as "so far fetched as to be almost laughable". The NCA (National Crime Agency) is equivalent to the MACC/SPRM in Malaysia. This is the original news from the NCA's website: http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/1510-money-laundering-air-steward-claimed-cash-was-for-harrods-handbags 5. Compared to Malaysia, money laundering is a huge offence and is strictly enforced in the UK. The regulator, the FCA (equivalent to the BNM in Malaysia) is overbearing on its anti-money laundering supervision and is proudly publishes its collection of fines from individuals and banks. The most recent landmark fine for money laundering was last year to Deutsche Bank, which was fined for £160 million. https://www.fca.org.uk/news/news-stories/2018-fines 6. From the MH Rumour Department: Crew team were wondering where he was. They thought he fainted in the toilet. Then Her Majesty's custom officers came to the crew team with his passport telling them that he was arrested. Crew team proceeded to offload and depart. Cabin service was minus 1 crew for that flight since there is no standby crew at LHR. He is married with kids. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
