Abdullah Rahim has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison for laundering more than £20 million worth of criminal money Pic: Metropolitan Police

A Lewisham man has been jailed for six-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to laundering more than £20 million worth of criminal money.

Abdullah Rahim, 34, from Belmont Park, and his three associates, were sentenced to a total of 21 years and two months in prison for laundering millions of pounds in criminal assets abroad.

City of London police officers arrested two of his associates, who were caught carrying £35,000 in cash, on September 11 last year.

Iftekahn Choudhary, 30, and Brian Mcinerney, 53, both from Islington, were reportedly on the way to deliver the money to Rahim, who would then transfer the funds to Dubai and then further across the globe to launder the cash.

Officers arrested Rahim on the same day at his home after discovering a laptop that contained spreadsheets documenting illegal movements of £20.7 million between January 8 and September 10 last year.

Police found 2,610 printed transaction slips during a raid at Rahim’s shop in Whitechapel, dated between August 28 and September 11 last year for about £700.

City of London Police Detective Constable Darren Norman, said: “This gang was directly responsible for the illegal transfer of £20 million of criminal money abroad.

“They faked thousands of transaction receipts using two businesses in an attempt to hide their criminal actions.

“This is criminal money being transferred around the globe in an attempt to make the money look legitimate and hide it from law enforcement agencies worldwide.”

Another associate of Rahim, Zaka Din, 46, from Norbury, was arrested on September 2 last year after orchestrating illegal cash exchanges between the UK and overseas using his travel agent business. Confiscation orders will now take place against Din and Rahim.