Laundering: Couple's assets frozen for cheating 3 London women

A special anti-money laundering court here has attached Rs 35 lakh land asset of a couple for cheating three London-based women by laundering the profits of their Rs 3.25 crore property located in Bangalore.
A criminal case of cheating and breach of trust was registered by Bangalore Police in February last year against one Noreen Anderson who and her husband allegedly cheated the three complainant by gobbling up funds generated through the sale of their property in the metropolitan city.
The police, which filed a charge sheet in this case in April, 2012, alleged that Anderson used the General Power of Attorney (GPA) given to her by the three women (from one family) for selling their property but did not share the profit with the owners thereby criminally cheating them.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) later registered a money laundering case taking cognisance of the police complaint and found that Anderson had purchased the Rs 35 lakh land property in Ooty from the money gained from this deal, identifying this asset as "proceeds of crime".
"The proceeds of sale consideration received by Anderson on behalf of and on the strength of GPA given by Marietta Pinto Hayes, Natalie Patricia Bamforth and Kelly Catherine Reade (all London based) were misappropriated and were used for her personal gain instead of giving the proceeds of sale consideration to the three women," the investigating agencies found in their probe and submitted in the charge sheet.

"It is further revealed from the charge sheet filed by the police and from the statements of Anderson given under Prevention of Money Laundering Act that she has projected, the misappropriated amounts, proceeds of crime as untainted money by utilising the same for her personal expenditures and personal investments (Rs 35 lakh property in Ooty)," the agencies said.