The son of gypsy billionaire Alfie Best has been ordered to pay £100,000 after flogging ‘dubious’ Rolex watches to suspected ‘money laundering’ scrap metal firms
Alfie Best Junior, who made the under 30 rich list in 2021, sold £1million of luxury timepieces through his company The Best Kettles.
But Peterlee Magistrates heard there were no serial numbers for the valuable watches or records to show where they had come from and that they were genuine.
Durham Police began probing the affairs of millionaire Best Jnr, a boxer and reality TV star, after two scrap metal companies bought watches worth £940,000 from The Best Kettles.
Financial investigator Mr John Foreman told a proceeds of crime hearing: ‘Over a year I have investigated a number of companies that we believe have just been set up just to launder cash from scrap metal.
Alfie Best Junior has been ordered to pay back £100,000 after selling ‘dubious’ Rolex watches to a ‘money laundering’ scrap metal firm, a court heard. Best Jnr is pictured next to a portrait of himself
Durham Police began probing the affairs of millionaire Best Jnr, a boxer and reality TV star, after two scrap metal companies bought watches worth £940,000 from The Best Kettles (Best Junior is pictured attending a religious service having converted to Islam)
Best Junior is the son of British gypsy billionaire Alfie Best (pictured) who made his fortune through his empire of mobile home sites
‘There was no real trading expenditure, no wages, anything of that nature – immediately you could quite clearly see the purchases of high value watches or gold in some instances.’
He told how HRT Trading LTD and North Yorks Recycling LTD, which have links to Darlington, County Durham, both bought watches from Alfie Best Jnr’s company.
Mr Foreman continued: ‘On further examination you could quite clearly see watches being purchased from The Best Kettles Limited.’
He told Peterlee Magistrates’ Court he found evidence of £940,000 of watches being bought between HRT and North Yorks Recycling.
Best Jnr is sole director of The Best Kettles, according to Companies House, with its office registered in London‘s Hatton Garden.
Mr Foreman added: ‘I started to look at Best Kettles’ accounts and the bank submitted a suspicious activity report outlining their suspicions along with mine that there was simply money laundering going on.
‘He (Alfie Jnr) couldn’t produce to me any serial numbers for the valuable watches or where they originated from.
‘Two watches worth £140,000 were sent to North Yorks Recycling. His paperwork does not note any indications to the serial numbers of the Rolexes which we believe were either stolen or from dubious sources. I asked him to produce evidence of serial numbers to no avail.
‘The money that was received by The Best Kettles was also put into Best Park Homes LTD. Best Park Homes, on the admission of Mr Best, lent money to The Best Kettles to buy the watches.
‘The money within was there to be used to further criminality, to purchase watches from dubious sources.’
Alfie Best Junior (pictured) made the under 30 rich list in 2021 and is part of the billionaire Best gypsy dynasty
Best Jnr is also the sole director of Best Park Homes Limited.
The 27-year-old was expected to appear before the court on Tuesday to contest an application for money in two frozen bank accounts to be seized, but he did not attend.
Prosecutor Mr Paul Clerk said: ‘We came this morning expecting an argument. When I didn’t see any Rolls-Royces outside I suspected people were not coming up from London. I have found out that the application has been withdrawn.’
Best, whose address is listed in court papers as being in West Thurrock, revealed last year he had converted to Islam and has a £10m fortune.
Chair of the bench, Lorraine Overton, said: ‘We accept that the property is recoverable and has been intended for unlawful use.
‘We believe that these monies should be forfeited in the interests of justice.’
Best Jnr has been ordered to repay a total of £97,929.47.
An application was also made for Best Jnr to pay £650 in costs.
Alfie Best Jnr previously appeared in My Big Fat Gypsy Fortune, Rich Kids Go Shopping, and ITV reality show Absolutely Ascot in 2018.
