A North London rug salesman who acted as a middleman for people smugglers operating small boat crossings is facing jail for a series of money laundering charges.
Asghar Gheshalghian, 48, brokered deals between migrants and criminal gangs, facilitating payments for the illegal Channel crossings from Northern France.
Known as Mr G, Gheshalghian ran an unregistered money transfer service and his legitimate rug sales company, based in an office block in Wood Green, as a front for the criminal operation.
Investigators found ledgers containing details of illegal transactions, and evidence of around £1.6 million flowing into his bank accounts.
The National Crime Agency arrested Gheshalghian at his desk in February 2021, following a two-year investigation, and linked him to at least eight Iranian asylum seekers who had made crossings to the UK by boat or on the back of a lorry.
In covertly recorded phone conversations, Gheshalghian had told an associate: “70-80 per cent (of) our business is illegal”, the NCA said.
Officers also recovered around £50,000 in raids on his storage lock-up and home in East Ham.
The evidence showed Gheshalghian received money from migrants or their families, he took a commission for the illegal work, and released the funds to the criminal gangs once the crossing had been completed.
In one recorded conversation, he bragged about his activities, saying: “They approve me, they know I won’t cheat on them, once the task is completed – money”.
Gheshalghian was convicted of five counts of money laundering and facilitating illegal immigration following a trial at Southwark crown court. He will be sentenced on January 24.“By his own admission Asghar Gheshalghian was trusted by organised crime gangs to handle their payments and launder the money they made through organising dangerous Channel boat and lorry crossings”, said NCA Branch Commander Mark Howes. “In doing so he enabled their criminality and happily took a cut from the profits they made from it.“Crossing the Channel illegally in boats or lorries is extremely dangerous, sadly in recent days/weeks we have seen it can have fatal consequences.“This is why disrupting and dismantling the gangs involved in organised immigration crime is a priority for the NCA.“Targeting their financial flows through agents like Gheshalghian is just one of the ways we are doing that.”
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