Criminal cases that the Crown Prosecution Service take to court are in the news every day. This section also covers many issues related to our work, including violence against women and girls, hate crime, support for victims and witnesses, statistics, and speeches by the Director of Public Prosecutions and other senior staff.
Latest news
You can find our latest news stories here and search for older stories. You can also find more information about high-profile cases and the work of the CPS.
Working with the media
To make criminal court reporting more open, the CPS, police, and media representatives created a joint protocol (agreement) for working together. We are currently working on an updated version of the protocol.
Showing 1 - 10 of 29 results for crime type "Proceeds of crime" & area "CPS"
Paul Flowers, former Co-Operative Bank Chairman, Labour councillor in Rochdale and Bradford, and Methodist minister stole from his friend Margaret Jarvis whilst she battled Alzheimer’s. On her death he continued to steal from her estate, abusing his position as executor of her will.Over…
The designer of a fake luxury clothes scam has been ordered to pay back £90,503,211 or face more time in prison. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) secured a Confiscation Order against Arif Patel, 57, at Chester Crown Court on 28 August 2025.Clothing manufacturer Arif Patel, of Preston, and…
The ringleader of a people-smuggling operation which led to the tragic deaths of 39 Vietnamese men, women and children in Essex, has had his sentence extended for failing to pay back his Confiscation Order.Ronan Hughes, 45, was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment at the Old Bailey in February 2021…
Press ReleaseProceeds of crimeFraud and economic crimeCPS
Thomas Kavanagh, a senior figure in the Kinahan Organised Crime Group (OCG) and his associate Gary Vickery, who were jailed for their part in a drug smuggling operation, which involved importing drugs inside tarmac removal machinery, have been ordered to pay back over £1 million or face more time…
The former director of a finance company, based in the City of London, has been ordered to pay back £64 million or spend 14 more years in prison from a large-scale fraud.Anthony Constantinou, 41, was found guilty of Fraud by false representations, Fraudulent-trading, and Money laundering at…
A bogus doctor who was responsible for forging her medical qualifications and fraudulently securing positions as a hospital psychiatrist has been ordered to pay back £406,624 or spend two and half more years in prison.Zholia Alemi, 63, of Burnley, was found guilty of 13 counts of fraud, two counts…
Alexander Surin, who has been dubbed ‘Don Car-Leone’ for his fleet of high-end luxury cars, has handed over more that £3.6m after being served with a Civil Recovery Order for illicit Bitcoin.The convicted drug trafficker, fraudster and money launderer had claimed that the cryptocurrency was derived…
A convicted money launderer responsible for transporting illegal money to Dubai has been ordered to pay £2,543,047.47 through a Confiscation Order after an appeal judgement made by the court on 27 May 2025. Abdulla Mohammad Ali Bin Beyat Alfalasi, 48, arranged the transport of an…
Two members of a national fraud gang who fraudulently solicited charity donations have been ordered to give up their ill-gotten gains.David Levi, 49, and Stephen Chesterman, 64, were part of an organised gang that scammed the public by pretending they were collecting charity donations, but none or…
Two organised crime gang leaders in Lancashire who were responsible for the supply and distribution of huge quantities of drugs have been ordered to pay back £1.5 million or spend six more years in prison.Philip Jenkinson, 40, was previously convicted at Preston Crown Court after pleading guilty to…
Press ReleaseProceeds of crimeCPS
Press Office contact details
Please note that our Press Office is NOT able to deal with issues or queries from members of the public - these contact details are for accredited journalists ONLY. Do not call this number unless you a member of the press. For all general enquiries, please visit contact.cps.gov.uk.
If you are a national or international journalist with a media enquiry, you can contact the CPS Press Office on 020 3357 0906 or email [email protected] (9am-5pm weekdays only).
For out-of-hours media enquiries please call 020 3357 0906 to reach the duty press officer.
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Media protocol
To ensure greater openness in the reporting of criminal proceedings, the CPS, the police and media representatives developed a joint protocol for working together. We are currently in the process of updating the protocol.
