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Rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous, Mansoor Hussain proudly posed with celebrities like Meghan Markle, Beyonce, and Simon Cowell.
But the millionaire businessman, who loved to show off his front-line connections on social media, wasn’t all he seemed.
Investigators believe the 40-year-old owner of Poundworld laundered large sums of money for criminal networks linked to a convicted murderer, drug trafficking and arms trafficking.
Mansoor Hussain, who boasted of his top-tier connections, including Meghan Markle in 2013 (pictured), laundered large sums of money for criminal networks, investigators say.
Now, the National Crime Agency has seized almost £ 10 million from the property developer.
In the first successful use of a ‘McMafia’ order, named for the BBC television drama series starring James Norton, Hussain had to turn over 45 properties, including million-pound mansions and apartment blocks in London, Cheshire. and Leeds.
The NCA used an unexplained estate order (UWO) to target the alleged criminal, who has spent years flaunting his money.
Hussain’s Twitter and Instagram pages are full of photos of him posing with stars, politicians and royals in places like Barbados, New York, Monaco and Saint-Tropez.
In one photograph, which he repeatedly posted on social media, he can be seen hugging Meghan Markle at the Global Gift Gala in London in 2013, three years before she met Prince Harry.
After the royal marriage, Hussain reposted the image for his 134,000 Instagram followers, titled: ‘Great night with the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle’.
Hussain was the director of a stage production company that ran shows for Beyonce (pictured), Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, the Spice Girls, and Take That.
As the director of a stage production company that ran shows for Beyonce, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, the Spice Girls and Take That, Hussain, who calls himself Manni Boss, never missed a photo opportunity.
He has been photographed with Topshop mogul Sir Philip Green, Cherie Blair, Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, and businesswoman Michelle Mone.
On the website of one of his real estate businesses, 88m, he states that he “takes great pride” in working with the Petra Ecclestone Foundation, led by the daughter of Formula 1 billionaire Bernie Ecclestone.
There is no suggestion that any of the celebrities he met was involved in any crime.
Hussain, who started his first business at 18, boasts of traveling in a private jet and owning a fleet of luxury vehicles including Rolls Royces and Range Rovers.
But the NCA believes his jet-set lifestyle was financed by money laundering from notorious gangs.
According to investigators, Hussain has ties to Mohammed Nisar Khan, a convicted murderer serving a 26-year sentence. He also used a convicted con artist as his accountant and allegedly allowed an armed robber to stay in his seven-room mansion and attic, the NCA says.
Hussain’s Twitter and Instagram pages are full of photos of him posing with stars like Simon Cowell (pictured)
He believes he used threats of violence and blackmail to buy his properties. Investigators realized the scale of his assets only when he submitted 127 lever arch folders and a 76-page statement explaining where his money came from, inadvertently giving officers clues to present a larger case against him.
UWOs were introduced in 2018 to give authorities the power to investigate the source of wealth of suspected criminals and politically exposed persons. The anti-Hussain last year was the first to rely solely on alleged links to organized crime.
The NCA took the case to civil courts, rather than criminal courts, due to the difficulty of gathering financial evidence capable of warranting a conviction.
Andy Lewis, the NCA’s head of civil recovery, said that while Hussain initially appeared to be a successful businessman with no convictions, there was a ‘compelling case’ that he was a suspected money launderer and had ties to those involved in the trafficking. of drugs.
“We showed him the evidence and he decided to settle with us,” Lewis said. “He felt that it was the best action for him, rather than going to court and potentially losing all those assets.”
An agreement was reached between Hussain and the NCA on August 24, and the High Court sealed the asset recovery order on October 2. Hussain was left with four properties, which are said to be “highly mortgaged.”
