A lawyer who stood in last year’s general election and an accountant are due to appear in court after being charged with money laundering.
Solicitor Akhmed Yakoob, 37, who stood as an independent candidate for both the West Midlands mayoral election and the general election in 2024, and accountant Nabeel Afzal, 38, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 17 and each face three criminal charges, the National Crime Agency has said.
Yakoob, of Perry Barr, and Azfal, of Edgbaston, both in Birmingham, are accused of money laundering, encouraging money laundering and contravening a requirement to apply customer due diligence measures when establishing a business relationship.
The offences are alleged to have been committed between February 18 2020 and January 8 2021.
Yakoob unsuccessfully stood in Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s Birmingham Ladywood constituency in the last general election, coming second with 12,137 votes compared to her 15,558, and came third in the West Midlands mayoral election with 69,621 votes.
He also represented two brothers who were involved in an incident involving Greater Manchester Police officers at Manchester Airport in July 2024.
