The fraud investigation into the case of a Brumei businessman who fled to Pakistan was abruptly halted – ending 15 years in exile

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The Serious Fraud Office has abruptly ended a 15-year criminal investigation against a Promi businessman who fled to Pakistan after he was involved in a £49m mortgage fraud.

The arrest and restraint orders against Nizar Afzal, who had vehemently denied any wrongdoing, were rescinded at the request of investigators.

The dramatic decision comes 15 years after Afzal fled to Pakistan when allegations of fraud surfaced in 2006, claiming he would not get a fair trial and that he and his family were “victims of a high-profile conspiracy”.

He has since been pursued by the Serious Fraud Office, with the help of the National Crime Agency and Pakistan’s National Accountability Office, amid allegations that he was in control of £26m linked to the fraud.

His gold jewelry, said to be worth £500,000, and two properties worth £1.2m in Birmingham were confiscated as part of the investigation.

READ MORE: Gold and Rolex watches worth £500,000 were found in a safety deposit box linked to a city fugitive

The decision to cancel the orders means that Nizar Afzal is no longer being prosecuted for the allegations and that his name is clear.

While in exile, Afzal’s brother, younger Ahmed Afzal, was imprisoned after admitting his role in carrying out the £49m scam.

Nizar Afzal was named in court proceedings as an engaged fraud in his absence, despite his protest of his innocence.

Judge Bidow, who sentenced Small Afzal, said in June 2011 that he and his brother orchestrated a “massive and carefully orchestrated trust scam” over two years, defrauding the Cheshire Building Society, the Bank of Ireland, Societe Generale, and a nationwide building community of about 50 million pounds sterling.

The hearing, in Southwark Crown Court, heard that the scam revolved around devious legal surveyor Ian McGarry providing small and, allegedly, Nizar Afzal, false valuations based on bogus leases, which were used to support fraudulent mortgage applications on six Aston properties, Saltley and Oldbury.

Among the properties in question are a cow barn and an abandoned air base.

Small then used the best of these false valuations, and his brother alleged he was tricking lenders into handing over nearly £50m on property worth just £5.6m.

It turns out that Small Afzal personally benefited from the scam. He was also alleged to have sent more than £26m to Pakistan, under the control of his brother.

The sentencing court also heard that McGarry accepted bribes from the Better brothers totaling more than £1m, including luxury holidays abroad in Dubai, an Aston Martin, cash in brown paper envelopes, and the purchase of three properties in London.

Over the fifteen years that he was on the run, Nizar Afzal has consistently opposed criminal investigations against him and asserted that he was the victim of an abuse of power and had not committed any fraud or criminal act.

He said the Serious Fraud Office had failed to properly investigate another person, and had always protested his innocence.

Read more about the case and the Serious Fraud Office’s hunt for Nizar Afzal:

Birmingham fugitive linked to £30m fraud ‘living in luxury in Pakistan’

Birmingham scammer jailed for Britain’s biggest mortgage scam, sentenced to 10 extra years in prison

The case is seen as one of the largest and most complex cases investigated by the Organized Crime Bureau (SFO), and involved international cooperation with Pakistan’s National Accountability Office (NAB).

The fraud allegedly occurred between 2004 and 2006, and the offenses included two counts of conspiracy to obtain money transfers by deception and four counts of obtaining money transfers by deception.

Young Best and Ian McGarry after their arrest

Saghir Afzal was sentenced to 13 years in prison and asked to pay £29.3m.

McGarry was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to return 1.5 million pounds.

Six lawyers who allegedly conducted real estate transactions on their behalf were also tried, but three were acquitted and the jury was unable to reach a verdict with respect to the other three.

The Serious Fraud Office continued an investigation into the civil recovery of criminal proceeds of Sagheer as well as against his brother Nizar, both from Edgbaston, on the grounds that the assets were from criminal enterprises.

Using new powers, called Listed Asset Orders, they confiscated the family’s jewelry from a trust fund owned by Shabana Koussa, Nissar’s former partner.

In 2013, Saghir Afzal was sentenced to another 10 years in prison after failing to comply with an original court order to return millions of pounds in cash and assets.

The Counter-Terrorism Office has now confirmed that the restraining orders against Nasir Afzal, which were first secured on 24 July 2006, have been cleared and “there are no actions by the Counter-Terrorism Office” against him anymore.

Reporter Murtaza Ali Shah, who has been following the case at all times, reported in Geo News last week that the arrest warrant, which was secured in Westminster Magistrates Court against Nasir Afzal on October 29, 2010, had been withdrawn under the Criminal Justice Act 1987.

Southwark Crown Court ordered the release of injunctions and release of arrest warrant earlier this month after the Serious Fraud Office filed an application with Judge Griff QC, stating that it would not and plan to pursue the criminal case against Nazar Afzal. Close the file, Geo News reported.

Nizar Afzal (Photo: Geo News)

The Serious Fraud Office has since confirmed to Birmingham Live that it closed the case against Mr Afzal “after careful consideration”.

It concluded that the case no longer met the test as defined by the Crown Prosecutors Act, meaning that either there must be sufficient evidence to convict, or a trial is in the public interest.

But they said that the assets confiscated from Nizar Afzal as a result of the investigation will not be returned.

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