Gypsy billionaire Alfie Best’s son must pay £100,000 after selling ‘dubious’ Rolex watches to ‘money laundering’ scrap metal firms

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
Gypsy billionaire Alfie Best’s son must pay £100,000 after selling ‘dubious’ Rolex watches to ‘money laundering’ scrap metal firms

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

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)

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

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

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.

Total
0
Shares
Leave a Reply
Related Posts
Urgent safety warning for parents dropping their children off at nurseries and school holiday clubs in wake of Southport stabbing attack
Read More

Urgent safety warning for parents dropping their children off at nurseries and school holiday clubs in wake of Southport stabbing attack

A nursery group has urged parents not to hold the door open for others at drop-off and pick-up following an attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.  Childbase Partnership, which looks after 6,000 children in 44 day nurseries across England, has sent out a 'high priority' email to parents about security measures after three children
ANDREW PIERCE: Labour appoints academic who specialises in equality and gender issues and accused the Tories of being obsessed with improving exam grades in charge of overhauling school curriculum
Read More

ANDREW PIERCE: Labour appoints academic who specialises in equality and gender issues and accused the Tories of being obsessed with improving exam grades in charge of overhauling school curriculum

In the loftiest Left-wing ­academic circles, Professor Becky Francis is a celebrated figure thanks to her learned papers on gender stereotypes in the classroom. But within a matter of months, the ­professor will become a familiar name to a much wider audience: every parent worrying about their child's performance at a state school.  For Francis
Angela Rayner denies wanting to ‘concrete over’ the countryside as she unveils plans for ‘new towns’ after announcing extraordinary move to force councils to deliver 1.5m homes – with one Tory-controlled area forced to build SEVEN TIMES more houses
Read More

Angela Rayner denies wanting to ‘concrete over’ the countryside as she unveils plans for ‘new towns’ after announcing extraordinary move to force councils to deliver 1.5m homes – with one Tory-controlled area forced to build SEVEN TIMES more houses

Angela Rayner has rubbished 'nonsense' claims Labour wants to 'concrete over' the countryside as she unveiled her plans for a fresh generation of new towns. The Deputy Prime Minister, who is spearheading the Government's bid to deliver 1.5million new homes over the next five years, hit back at critics of her building blitz. She rejected