Ussama El-Kurd, 64, has been jailed for nine years after setting up ‘Kensington Money Exchange’, a bureau de change, and helping to clean up almost £170millon of criminal cash.
El-Kurd’s wife Randa, 51, and son, Hussain, 22, helped to run the business, which was set up in 2006 whilst he was on bail for a previous money laundering conviction, which was quashed on appeal.
Mr Justice Irwin said, “That volume of money laundering represented the proceeds of no doubt drug dealing, no doubt extortion, no doubt robbery and violence and all the other aspects of major crime”.
Ian Bridge represented Mr El Kurd at the Old Bailey having successfully represented Mr El Kurd at his appeal and retrial from 2006-8.
