A glamorous married mother of two became one of Britain’s FBI’s most wanted suspects today after her alleged recruits were convicted of a £104m smuggling ring. Michelle Clarke, 42, is still being hunted by the National Crime Agency for the huge sums of dirty money being sent from Heathrow to the Middle East.
She is currently understood to be on the run from justice in Dubai, where the plot’s money center was located. Former Sky TV digital coordinator Ms. Clarke, from Leeds, was painted as a kingpin-style figure in the case that saw Joe Calzaghe’s glamor model ex-girlfriend and others, including Kim Kardashian, facing off or in jail.
She is said to have recruited 26-year-old Beatrice Auty of Fulham and the others for the grand plot. Ms. Clarke also ran the ‘Sunshine and Lollipops’ WhatsApp group, ostensibly set up to organize mail arriving in Dubai. And in court the role of her was explained and how she ordered the couriers to use only pay-as-you-go mobile sims.
Jo-Emma Larvin Hid dirty money in luggage before flying it from Heathrow
Ms. Clarke was said to have insisted: ‘Just use these phones for now and delete everything from your personal phones.’ Earlier in the case, prosecutor Julian Christopher said the couriers were recruited “directly and through Michelle Clarke.”
Referring to her, he said: ‘A British citizen in Dubai became involved in recruiting couriers. He does not appear on the bench because he is out of the jurisdiction. Today, Calzaghe’s glamorous ex-girlfriend Jo-Emma Larvin, 44, and others were facing jail time for their part in the global plot.
Larvin, 44, made the first trip with Amy Harrison, 27, when they took £2.2 million to Dubai in seven suitcases. Her partner Jonathan Johnson, 55, traveled with her for the second time. The couple carried £2.8m in September 2020, using ordinary holiday items to disguise cash hidden in eight suitcases. Larvin’s six-year relationship with former Welsh boxing legend Calzaghe ended in 2009.
She now describes herself as a safari specialist, wildlife photographer, travel consultant, social media digital marketer, and interior designer. Larvin denied any wrongdoing and claimed that she believed she was flying millions of pounds for the UAE embassy. The model said that when she and her partner accepted the job it was the “worst decision” of her life.
Larvin and Johnson, both from Ripon, North Yorks, along with Harrison, from Worcester Park, Surrey, and Beatrice Auty, 26, from Fulham, all denied but were unanimously convicted of removing criminal property from the UK.
Judge Sarah Paneth granted the defendants pre-sentencing bail on a date to be determined, saying: “I don’t see any of you as flight risks, otherwise I wouldn’t grant you bail.” Liam Rabone, 29, of West Kensington, was acquitted of removing criminal property after he told jury: “I would never have gone to two international airports knowing I was part of a crime syndicate.”
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The cash smugglers flew business class so they could take more luggage with them. Once they arrived in Dubai, they declared cash and handed over a letter authorizing them to transport it from a company called Omnivest. Julian Christopher, KC, the prosecutor, told the jury that the defendants “played a significant role in transporting large amounts of cash” to Dubai from Heathrow.
Millions of pounds in English and Scottish notes were transported in checked suitcases as baggage, the court heard. Any value over €10,000 leaving the EU must be declared to HMRC, but smugglers’ bags used to contain up to £500,000. The couriers were paid £3,000 and all their expenses for their trips to Dubai before flying back with ‘their considerably lighter bags’.
During his first trip, Larvin sent messages to Johnson, telling him that he was “in the abyss”. Johnson is reported to have told him: ‘You have to be very careful’ and: ‘I like your company, but the threat of the jingle [sic]’. Christopher said: “That’s the prison threat, he’s concerned about the illegal nature of this.”
Johnson also texted Larvin two days before their first trip to Dubai, telling him that taking eight suitcases with them was “kidding.” NCA investigators found that couriers took £104m out of the country on 83 Emirates flights from London Heathrow to Dubai. Kingpin Abdulla Alfalasi, 48, from Dubai, was jailed for more than nine years last July.
Recruitment consultant Tara Hanlon, 32, described as a Kim Kardashian, was locked up for nearly three years in 2022 for money laundering offenses.
Auty was allegedly hired as a courier by 42-year-old married mother-of-two Michelle Clarke in July 2020. Hanlon was told to “reassure” Auty, who was later added by Leeds’ mother Clarke to the WhatsApp “Sunshine and Lollipops”. group, created to organize the mails that arrive in Dubai.
Clarke, who is still at large, urged couriers to only use pay-as-you-go mobile sims, saying: “Just use these phones for now and remove everything from your personal phones.”
Lesley Hayton, a money laundering expert, and Her Majesty’s Treasury technical adviser, said she had hidden coffee and air freshener in her suitcases to keep sniffer dogs away from the scent of cash.
She said that anything over £13,000 must be declared on arrival in Dubai. Ms. Hayton added: “There is a belief that when moving large sums of cash… there is a belief that coffee will prevent a sniffer dog from finding the cash.”
She added: “I think they were traveling with Emirates Airlines, business class has the luxury of late check-in so the chances of you getting caught are much smaller than if you were waiting in an airport for two or three hours.” “There’s also a higher baggage allowance in business class.”
Johnson is said to have told Ms Larvin that her contacts were ‘taking the p***’, adding: ‘How the hell do two people run eight cases? It’s fucking ridiculous, to talk about conspicuous. ‘
The couple was arrested in March of last year. Auty told the court that her ex-partner put her in contact with Clarke and told her that she would be working for the royal family of the United Arab Emirates.
She said she met a driver named Karim at a Starbucks in Knightsbridge who took her to a house in the city and gave her bags to take to Dubai and said: “Have a lovely trip.” Auty said that she did not believe that she was doing anything illegal.
Larvin and Johnson, both from Ripon, North Yorks, along with Harrison, from Worcester Park, Surrey, and Auty, from Fulham, all denied but were convicted of removing criminal property from the UK. Rabone, from West Kensington, denied and was cleared of the same charge. Alfalasi, from Dubai, was arrested in December 2021 at an apartment in Lowndes Square, Belgravia, where three-bedroom properties sell for more than £11m.
He admitted to moving criminal cash out of the UK between April 3, 2019 and November 3, 2020.
Formerly H.E. Hamid Al Zaabi, Director General of the United Arab Emirates’ Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Executive Office, said: “This case is a practical example of how the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom are working on close collaboration to increase cooperation and coordination in illicit financial matters”. flows as intelligence sharing and joint operations capabilities are enhanced.
“We will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the UK in the global fight against illicit finance.” Janes Solicitors, who represented Rabone, said: “Liam Rabone is delighted with his acquittal today after an eight-week trial at Isleworth Crown Court.
Throughout the police investigation and court proceedings, Mr. Rabone has maintained his innocence and is extremely appreciative that the jury reached its decision after four days of deliberation, despite reaching guilty verdicts regarding the other four co-defendants of money laundering. offenses.’
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