Money launder charges denied

A former company director and a student from Dudley are among four people accused of laundering hundreds of thousands of pounds in criminal profits.

Almost £600,000 was transferred to an account in Hong Kong held in the name of Bo Li in a period of just two years, Birmingham Crown Court heard.

Mr David Matthew, prosecuting, alleged the money was the proceeds of crime.

Mr Matthew said that Li, aged 39, also had a hand in buying four properties worth £302,000 in Ivanhoe Street, Churchfield Street and Wolverhampton Street, all Dudley, and Churchfield Avenue, Tipton.

Li, of Stratford Road, Shirley; Anthony Whale, aged 34, of Holbeache Road, Kingswinford, and 25-year-olds Yaqiong Zhao and Ke Qu, both of Churchfield Street, Dudley, variously deny a total of 24 charges relating to alleged money laundering.

The trial was told three of the defendants – ex-com-pany director Whale, stu-dent Zhao and Qu, Zhao's boyfriend – were arrested in October 2006 after a bank alerted police to a "suspicious" deposit of £43,800.

It is alleged that Li then flew to Hong Kong and closed down her account, which had received deposits of just under £600,000.

Mr Matthew said he did not intend to present evidence of where the money came from.

Li, who denies 16 charges, had previously run The Chinese Herbal Centre in Dudley. The trial continues.