Hawala kingpin Naresh Jain banned from entering UK

Naresh Kumar Jain, hawala kingpin arrested in New Delhi for alleged laundering of drug money and financing narcotic syndicates, has been banned from entering Britain, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Jain was being tracked by detectives in London, the United States, Holland, Italy, Spain and the UAE when he was arrested in New Delhi on Sunday. Britain's Serious organised Crime Agency said Jain controlled a worldwide money laundering system that, at its height, was capable of moving $2.2 billion every year.

British authorities have secured an exclusion order preventing Jain from entering the UK. Commenting on the arrest, SOCA deputy director Ian Cruxton said: "This operation is part of SOCA's long term strategy targeting specialist money launderers based overseas.

"The illegal money transfer systems they use provide the infrastructure to launder cash for organised crime groups whose activities directly impact on the United Kingdom".

Jain was arrested in Dubai in 2007 by the Dubai Police as part of a year long joint investigation between SOCA, Dubai Police and Italian Guardia di Finanza but fled to India while awaiting trial.

SOCA subsequently worked closely with the Dubai and Indian authorities to assist them with their enquiries. Jain is currently in custody in India and SOCA is liaising with both Indian and Dubai police on the next steps.

Cruxton said, "These networks pay no attention to cultural or geographical barriers. They launder money for organised crime groups from any ethnic background or criminal business, particularly UK, Pakistani and Turkish Nationals based in the UK and mainland Europe involved in drugs trafficking.

"SOCA continues to share intelligence and work with international partners to create a hostile environment both domestically and internationally".