Five men jailed for money laundering offences in Paisley
Five men have been jailed after being found guilty of money laundering offences.
Iain Robertson, 69 and David Lyons, 71, of Kilmalcolm, Alastair Blackwood, 58, of Dunlop, Robert Ferguson, 67, of Irvine and Mohammed Aziz, 61, from Glasgow were convicted, at the High Court in Glasgow, of various offences after an extensive police investigation into their activities.
The investigation identified money obtained through frauds on four occasions which was then laundered through the account of a solicitors firm in Paisley dating back to 2015 and 2016.
The group were found guilty of a number of charges, including being involved in serious organised crime and offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Today (Wednesday, 18 January, 2023) they were sentenced as follows. Iain Robertson to 8 years imprisonment, David Lyons to 7 years imprisonment, Mohammed Aziz to 7 years imprisonment, Alastair Blackwood to 7 years imprisonment and Robert Ferguson to 16 months imprisonment.
Detective Superintendent Dave Ferry said: “Targeting the movement of criminal cash and profits in Scotland remains a priority.
“This was a complex investigation which involved a number of partner agencies to trace the movement of money which ended up being channelled through the law firm’s accounts.
“I welcome their conviction and the fact that a significant amount of money has been identified and taken out of criminal circulation.
“Cases such as this are a good example of our commitment to detecting and disrupting the activities of serious and organised criminals, working in partnership with fellow members of the Serious and Organised Crime Taskforce.
“This includes focusing on the threat posed by enablers such as this group whose own criminal activity helps organised crime groups to operate. We aim to make Scotland a hostile and uncomfortable environment for organised criminals to operate and prevent them from preying on our communities and disrupting activity like this is an important part of that work.”
(Pictured above - Robert Ferguson)
