NCA Civil Asset Recovery Investigation Nets £6 Million Worth of Assets

On May 12, 2019, the National Crime Agency in the United Kingdom recovered approximately £6 million worth of assets, including an award-winning luxury hotel and a £100,000 Bentley from alleged members of an international money laundering ring. The Honorable Mrs. Justice Cheema-Grubb DBE issued the order after three defendants, including a practicing barrister and associated companies, agreed to surrender the assets rather than face a 15-day trial. The consent forfeiture orders resulted from a complex eight-year civil recovery investigation into businessman Jonathan Nuttall, 46, of Romsey, Hampshire.  The NCA first encountered Nuttall’s activities when it undertook a civil recovery investigation involving convicted drug smuggler Amir Azam, from whom it recovered £4 million in assets.  Nuttal structured his wealth so it was in the name of Amanda Nuttall, his wife, with whom he shared a London flat in Belgravia, which rented for £2,000 a week.