Prolific fraudster and kingpin ordered to pay £3.5 million criminal cash back

Through the last financial year, our Economic Crime Unit have successfully secured confiscation orders to the value of almost £5 million. This is money convicted criminals have earned through illicit means, often used to fund more serious violence and crime, or fund their lavish lifestyles. A confiscation order removes these criminal funds which are then reinvested into community initiatives for the benefit of local people.

Today, Aram Sheibani (01/09/1980) has been ordered to pay back £3.5 million. If he fails to do so in three months, he will face an extra 10 years in prison.

In 2021, Sheibani was sentenced to 37 years in jail for fraud, money laundering and drug offences.

Sheibani was from the upper echelons of organised crime and his extravagant lifestyle and high net worth associations were blasted all over social media. He was pictured across the globe on yachts and in luxury cars, but his downfall came in 2021 when detectives uncovered the true extent of his crime.

In one property in London, police recovered a safe which contained over £160k cash, safety deposit keys, crypto currency, and cocaine. A Porsche Panamera and several encrypted phones, often used by the criminal underworld to conduct business, were also seized.

Searches of other properties led us to recover more encrypted mobile phones, bank statements, and more cash. In total, we seized £1.2 million cash, property valued at £5 million, and £1.5 million worth of cryptocurrency.

Detective Superintendent Andy Buckthorpe from our Economic Crime unit said: “The criminal investigation into Sheibani and his illicit activity was incredibly complex, and enquiries led us overseas and into the digital world of cryptocurrency. The financial investigation which followed has been equally intricate, and I would like to thank each and every detective, financial investigator, volunteer, and staff member who has worked closely with the CPS to secure this result today.

“Sheibani was fuelled by greed and dishonesty, making vast profits from class A drugs and illicit means, ignorant to the damage and destruction this trade has to our communities.  

“If Sheibani does not pay back £3,408,369.67 in the next three months, an additional ten years will be added to his already lengthy jail sentence. I hope this acts as a stark warning to those involved in criminality. Our investigations don’t end once you’re behind bars, our financial investigators will come for every penny you have gained at the expense of innocent people.

“The finances confiscated through this order can now be reinvested back into the local community who were so affected by Sheibani, with the overall aim of making the community safer for local people and more hostile for criminals such as Sheibani to operate.”