£100 Million High Roller Laundered Gang Money

UK professional gambler Jatinder Singh Batth has been ordered to pay £1,984,805 by HM Revenue & Customs or face 10 years in jail, with the order still in place when he comes out.
Batth from Birmingham gambled £100 million at casino and sporting venues over a six year period. However, the  43 year-old was actually helping to launder dirty money on behalf of a criminal gang specializing in carousel fraud, which is a complex cross-border VAT scam.
During the period in which the money laundering took place, “Micky Singh” enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle and even gambled £11 million over the space of one weekend. He was also greeted with open arms by casino owners and treated to extended credit and expensive gifts, including a lavish package to the European Cup Final.
In one month alone in 2005, the fraud netted the gang £1.8 million, which was then gambled on low-risk wagers at casinos and bookmakers. All the while, proceeds from the gambling scam then allowed him to build up his wealth and purchase luxury assets, including a £1 million apartment opposite Lords cricket ground and a 50% stake of Coventry football Stadium.
Nevertheless, in 2005 Singh’s activities had drawn the attention of Customs who then set up a surveillance operation leading to the arrest of Singh and a number of other men. As a result, Jatinder Singh in 2009 was sentenced to 18 months in prison by the Birmingham Crown for money laundering. In addition, £13 million of the gangs assets were frozen, including UK and overseas properties, jewellery, several luxury cars and various bank accounts.
Commenting on the HMRC operation,  senior investigating officer Andy Baker, said: “Getting the convictions was the hard part. But we have now been able to open it up to investigate their criminal lifestyle and take away the proceeds they earned through crime..That is where they will feel the pain.”