11 jailed in British money-laundering case

BRADFORD, England, April 17 (UPI) -- A British travel agent was jailed Tuesday after pleading guilty in a money-laundering conspiracy involving more than $1 billion.

Shahid Nazir Bhatti, 45, was jailed for three years, the 11th person convicted in the conspiracy, The Daily Mail reported.

Investigators said Bhatti and the 10 other defendants illegally transferring funds through three travel agencies to other countries through a "hawala" transfer system that bypasses financial regulators.

Hawala, believed to have started in the early medieval period, is based on the honor system, with no promissory notes or other paperwork exchanged between brokers. It is most active in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the U.S. government said some hawala brokers may have helped terrorist organizations to transfer money to fund their activities.

The money transferred through the British travel agencies "was then deposited into business and personal accounts at various banking outlets, converted into foreign currencies, then transferred to accounts in the United States, the United Arab Emirates and across Europe," investigators said.