John Hurlock’s client acquitted of money laundering conspiracy

John Hurlock, instructed by Esra Yildirim of Morgan Has solicitors, successfully represented a woman charged with a conspiracy to launder more than £50,000 of the proceeds of a large-scale class A drug dealing enterprise.

His client’s daughter was in a relationship with a male who was serving an 18-year prison sentence for drug supply and money laundering offences, and who had continued to direct and operate his drugs operation from inside prison.  The prosecution alleged that John’s client had allowed her bank accounts to be used not only to launder the proceeds of the drug enterprise, but also to facilitate the smuggling of phones into prison.  In addition to financial evidence, the prosecution also relied on messages between John’s client and her daughter, which they claimed showed that she knew that the money being transferred into her account came from drug supply.

John’s client did not give evidence at trial, but she was unanimously acquitted by the jury after John was able to persuade the jury, based on a careful analysis of the messages, the banking transactions and his client’s account in interview, that she did not know that the money came from the sale of drugs.