A CONFISCATION order for £65600 was made against Faruk Al-Haidary today at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
Mr Al-Haidary, 47, was also previously sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to mortgage fraud.
The scheme involved fraudulent P60s, wage slips and driving licenses containing photos of other individuals in order to purchase heritable properties in Glasgow. Most of these were being sold by Al-Haidary, his relatives or another individual.
The total value of the funds obtained was £2,175,142 with losses of £587,964.70 being incurred by the lending institutions.
Lindsey Miller, Head of the Serious and Organised Crime Division (SOCD) and the current POCA champion, said:
“Faruk Al-Haidary was part of a sophisticated criminal enterprise using false documentation such as fraudulent driving licences and wage slips to obtain mortgages for a number of properties in the Glasgow area (can someone confirm they were all Glasgow) being sold by him or his associates.
“The number of mortgage frauds committed by the accused as part of this scheme make this a “lifestyle offence” under the Proceeds of Crime Act, therefore the Crown was able to look at all of Al-Haidary’s income over the six years preceding his arrest.
“The court found that £2,378,740 of his income during this time could not be accounted for legitimately.
“We are satisfied that the £65,600 confiscation order represents the amount of money available to us from Al-Haidary at this time.
“We can also apply to the court to vary the amount of the order should further funds become available, and we intend to make full use of this power.
“Mortgage fraud and the subsequent laundering of the associated free proceeds is often seen by criminals as an easy way to make money.
“This case should act as a reminder that the Proceeds of Crime legislation is wide-ranging and by committing lifestyle offences under POCA, criminals throw open their entire financial dealings over six years to detailed investigation by forensic accountants, lawyers, and ultimately the court.”
