A long-standing HM Revenue and Customs compliance officer has been handed a 14-month suspended sentence for aiding her criminal husband in a £3.3m money-laundering operation.
Kuldip Badesha, aged 46, worked for HMRC's compliance team and registered 12 firms at Companies House for her husband, company-director Ranbir Singh. She also did work for the businesses, but failed to tell bosses of the potential conflict of interest.
An HMRC investigation found that none of 46-year-old Singh's 12 companies were registered for VAT and that Badesha, of Chatham, Kent, had used official systems to create two fake letters purporting to be from the tax agency that allowed Singh to open two personal bank accounts. The letters included made-up National Insurance numbers and signatures.
The Crown Prosecution Service said that a bank account in the defendants’ joint names had a turnover of more than £3m and had been used solely used for money-laundering, receiving individual credits ranging from hundreds of pounds to tens of thousands of pounds.
HMRC said Singh had used 85 bank accounts to launder money between 2015 and 2018.
As part of its investigations, HMRC said Badesha had been discovered to be "leading a lifestyle that was beyond her means", including leasing an expensive Bentley car and taking long-haul holidays.
Badesha previously admitted one count of misconduct in public office; Singh pleaded guilty to two counts of money laundering.
A judge at Southwark Crown Court handed Badesha her suspended sentence yesterday. Singh was jailed for six years.
HMRC said its investigations revealed that Badesha met Singh – also known as Ray Singh Rana – shortly before he was handed an 11-year jail sentence for kidnap in 2008. It said she continued the relationship while Singh was behind bars and the couple married in 2013 while he was on weekend release.
HMRC said Singh's criminal money laundering began when he was on day release and continued after he left prison on licence in June 2014.
Badesha did not tell HMRC about her marriage and failed to notify bosses of her partner’s arrests and convictions.
The Bentley that Kuldip Badesha leased. Photo: HMRC
The tax agency said the "entire source" of the money Singh laundered had not been identified, but some had been linked to convicted financial adviser Stewart Mark Groves.
HMRC head of anti-corruption Ben Rollins said Badesha had committed "an appalling breach of trust" in her actions.
"She abused her position to help her husband launder millions of pounds," he said. "Money laundering allows criminals to profit from the misery they inflict on their victims and often funds even more serious crimes.
"We are absolutely committed to the highest level of integrity and will track down the tiny minority who let us all down by falling short of those standards."
Badesha worked for HMRC for 19 years before she was dismissed from the agency as a result of investigations in the case.
Singh was already an inmate at HMP Wandsworth at the time of yesterday's sentencing because of recent convictions for fraud, money laundering and sexual assault.
HMRC said action to recover the proceeds of the money laundering was under way.