Cemal Eşmene
A Turkish Cypriot man has been told he must pay back almost £9m or spend even more years in prison.
Cemal Eşmene, 59, and his 64-year-old accomplice Ian Yorkshire were both sentenced in 2012 for their role in a multimillion pound swindle.
The pair had convinced Christian philanthropist Graham Dacre that he would get profits from a high-yield investment fund that he could then use for charity.
But the money from the exercise went into accounts controlled by Eşmene, who was found guilty of money laundering.
Eşmene and Yorkshire were both sentenced to 11 years in prison for fraud, but they reappeared at Norwich Crown Court last Tuesday for a proceeds of crime hearing.
FACING EIGHT MORE YEARS
After the court heard this week that Eşmene had £7.1m tied in property and bank accounts across Europe, Judge Nicholas Coleman told him he had to pay this figure back or face an extra eight years in prison.
Yorkshire was ordered to return £1.7m or face seven more years.
The court heard Eşmene, who was joined in court by a Turkish interpreter, had £3.6m in the UK including in accounts with the private bank Coutts.
He had a further £3.2m in northern Cyprus, including a string of properties, but the prosecution said these had been frozen by the authorities in Cyprus pending court proceedings there and there could be difficulty repatriating them.
The court heard Eşmene’s other assets included cars, a £250,000 property in Turkey and £4,000 in a Spanish bank account.
Andrew Bodnar, for Eşmene, said his client had disclosed the Coutts accounts to prosecutors of his own free will, and they had not previously been aware of them.
