Four men have been jailed for a total of 27 years after laundering £23.4 million (around ₹300 crore) in criminal cash into cryptocurrency through a network that served organised crime groups between January 2018 and June 2020, HM Revenue and Customs said. The case followed an HMRC investigation and prosecution by specialist Crown Prosecution Service lawyers.
Gang Used Bank Accounts And Crypto Traders
Michael Konnor, 27, and Shiraz Khan, 47, controlled the money laundering operation, while John Geddes, 76, and Carlos Zapata, 58, moved cash and provided links to Irish and Kurdish criminal groups that used the network’s services.
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The men laundered money through personal and business bank accounts before transferring funds to third-party cryptocurrency traders. HMRC said the operation used several business accounts, including accounts in the names of Coinhub Ltd, formerly SHS Exchange Ltd, and Eagle Host Ltd.
Between January 2018 and June 2020, more than £27 million (around ₹346 crore) was credited to those accounts, of which £19.1 million (around ₹245 crore) was transferred to cryptocurrency traders.
EncroChat Messages Exposed Criminal Links
The case also involved messages exchanged on EncroChat, the encrypted phone network taken down in 2020 after an international law enforcement operation led in the UK by the National Crime Agency. HMRC said the messages discussed cash collections and referred to kidnap, extortion and drug dealing.
Even after their arrest in December 2019, Konnor and Khan continued laundering more than £4.5 million (around ₹58 crore) and changed their methods in an effort to conceal the activity. They later used companies, bank accounts and cryptocurrency accounts held in the names of third parties.
Geddes acted as a cash courier and was stopped in Wanstead, East London, in November 2019 with £149,940 (around ₹1.92 crore) found in the front passenger seat and boot of his Audi car.
Sentences Handed Down After Trial
Shiraz Khan, John Geddes and Carlos Zapata were convicted after a nine-week trial at Southwark Crown Court. Michael Konnor, previously known as Hrach Ghapantsyan, pleaded guilty during the trial on February 18, 2026.
Khan, of Edgehill Road, London, was jailed for 11 years. Geddes, of Sedgwick Park, Horsham, West Sussex, was sentenced to six years and six months. Zapata, previously known as Zia Chowdhury and John Galt, of Baldwins Lane, Birmingham, was jailed for five years and nine months. Konnor, of Braund Avenue, Ealing, London, was jailed for four years and six months.
Proceeds Recovery Action Begins
HMRC said action has been launched to recover the proceeds of crime. The CPS said it would apply to confiscate the proceeds of the defendants’ crimes as part of wider efforts to remove the financial incentives behind organised crime.
