Updated: Updated story after the two defendants successfully applied to have the charges dropped
A man and a woman have been charged in connection with an investigation into an alleged criminal money laundering network.
Frederic Charo, 45, of Churchill Close in Redhill and 34-year-old Radka Masih of Vernon Close in Epsom were initially arrested by Border Force criminal investigators during raids in west London and Surrey on Friday 30 November.
On Monday 22 April they answered bail and were charged with conspiring to conceal, disguise, convert, transfer or remove criminal property, contrary to section 327 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
A second charge of arranging the facilitation of the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property contrary to section 328 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 was also laid against both.
Bailed
They were both bailed to appear at Redhill Magistrates on Tuesday 7 May.
Thuraisamy Pathmanabhan, 64, of Ravenscroft Road, Weybridge, Surrey, and Mayuran Kuhathasan, 39, of Minehead Road, Harrow had both previously been charged with Proceeds of Crime Act offences.
The arrests in November involved Border Force criminal investigators working alongside police from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit and officers from HM Revenue and Customs.
Their investigation began after Border Force officers at St Pancras International station seized around £300,000 in cash from a passenger in September 2011.
Read more about the work of Border Force
UPDATE - On the 21st of May 2013 at Southwark Crown Court, Mr Pathmanabhan and Mr Kuhathasan made an application to dismiss the charges against them on the basis of the evidence then available to the Crown. Such applications were successful.
As a result of this hearing the charges against them were dropped. The Crown Prosecution Service thereafter made the decision to discontinue the charges against the remaining Defendants in the case (including Radka Masih and Frederic Charo). The investigation continues to gather more evidence’.