LONDON, Jul 22 : An Indian-origin couple has been convicted in the UK for fraudulently claiming to be able to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID pandemic and then illegally laundering the funds.

Jogesh Bhandari, 59, and Meenakashi (Meena) Bhandari, 58, were found guilty of several counts of fraud and money laundering after a five-week trial at Leicester Crown Court last week.

Craig Morris, 43, found to have made representations on behalf of their company in numerous fraudulent deals in 2020 and 2021, was also convicted, with all three to be sentenced on August 21.

"The COVID-19 pandemic was a time of uncertainty for the world, and the increased need for PPE equipment was sudden," said Paul Boniface, operations manager at the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA).

"This gave fraudsters like the Bhandaris and Morris an opportunity to target businesses and line their own pockets. All of this activity occurred at the height of the pandemic where the demand for PPE went through the roof," he said.

The NCA's investigation discovered that the group spent hundreds of thousands of pounds they received for PPE supplies on house renovations and luxury cars.

"Bhandari and his co-conspirators capitalised on these vulnerabilities by exploiting people and businesses for their own financial gain, paying for lavish lifestyles of luxury cars and significant home improvements," said Boniface.

"Fraud like this diverts essential equipment away from genuine organisations and the effects are far reaching, beyond immediate losses for the legitimate businesses involved. The NCA will continue to target fraudsters like these who cause significant harm to the UK economy," he said.

The agency's probe revealed that Bhandari owned and controlled a company set up in 2020 to buy and sell nitrile gloves during the pandemic. He worked with Frank Labruzzo, a US Assistant Attorney General at the Louisiana State Department of Justice who provided a fraudulent escrow service.

An escrow is a bank account which acts as a holding point for funds that are released when both sides of an agreement have been reached.

"Bhandari's first fraudulent activity began in November 2020 where he agreed a deal to provide 12 million boxes of gloves. The company paid the escrow account and, rather than funds remaining in the account until the deal was complete, the money was immediately moved, paid to Labruzzo, Bhandari and other companies," the NCA revealed.

"In a second deal a month later, Bhandari received a further 2.7 million dollars into the account, and almost 500,000 dollars was withdrawn to pay off his and his wife's debts. Bhandari supplied a number of forged documents to potential suppliers, including bank statements showing up to 125 million dollars and letters of attestation to try and persuade businesses to trade with him," it stated.

In early 2021, the NCA discovered he was paid more than 3.18 million dollars for an order of nitrile gloves to be delivered to US hospitals that were never delivered. His final fraud took place in late 2021 where Bhandari persuaded a supplier that he was a big player in the PPE industry and had access to hundreds of millions of dollars.

"The company agreed to a deal worth 1.8 billion dollars and Labruzzo provided a fraudulent letter to state Bhandari had deposited 35 million dollars as a security against the first delivery. The company then paid 1.35 million dollars for the first two planned shipments," it notes.

In the final deal, Bhandari was found to have received the 1.35 million dollars straight into a business account controlled by his wife from which they bought a new Porsche and used other amounts for kitchen refurbishment and extensive improvements on their home.

"As well as paying off debts, bank records showed the Bhandaris spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on Rolexes and other luxury watches, jewellery, cars including an Audi A5, a Land Rover Discovery and a VW Golf, and worldwide luxury travel and holiday packages. None of the money was used for its intended purpose," the NCA concluded.

Labruzzo, alongside one other accused, has already been convicted in the US in connection with this scam. (PTI)