Six UK Immigration Officers Charged with Money Laundering

Six United Kingdom (UK) immigration officers have been charged with money laundering and other offences following an investigation into alleged thefts from migrants.

The officers, 36-year-old Besmir Matera, 42-year-old Lee-Ann Evanson, 53-year-old John Bernthal, 45-year-old Ben Edwardes, 33-year-old Jack Mitchell, and 43-year-old David Grundy, are due to appear at Westminster magistrates’ court on 29 January.

According to The Guardian, five of them face charges including conspiracy to steal and misconduct in public office, while all six have been charged with money laundering offences.

Malcolm McHaffie, head of the CPS special crime division, said the charges followed a Home Office investigation into alleged thefts from migrants and money laundering between August 2021 and November 2022.

“Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to court and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings. We have worked closely with the Home Office’s anti-corruption criminal investigations unit as they carried out their investigation,” he said.

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Matera, of Reigate, Surrey, is charged with conspiracy to steal; misconduct in public office; concealing, disguising, converting, transferring or removing criminal property; obtaining leave to enter or remain in the UK by deception; and three counts of possession of an identity document with improper intention.

Evanson, of Bracknell; Bernthal, of Welling; Edwardes, of Bexleyheath; and Mitchell, of Dover, are each charged with conspiracy to steal, misconduct in public office, and concealing, disguising, converting, transferring, or removing criminal property.

Grundy, of Croydon, is charged with concealing, disguising, converting, transferring, or removing criminal property.

(The Guardian)