Pimvipa Starke Loses Everything

A 'cradle to grave' RART money laundering case ends with a confiscation order of £122,000. 

On 20th February 2006 at Snaresbrook Crown Court, HHJ Bing made a confiscation order under Proceeds Of Crime Act 2002 against Pimvipa Starke in the sum of £122,000. The benefit was certified to be £122,000.

£122,000 represents the equity in Starke's house which is currently subject to a restraint order. Starke was allowed 6 months to pay with 2 years imprisonment in default.

This concludes our first joint investigation with Waltham Forest Trading Standards which was referred in the early days of the London RART.

Starke, 58, of Waltham Abbey, was the girlfriend of Sidney Austin who in Sept 2004 was convicted with Dino Simm of running a international counterfeit DVD business valued at £2.5 million. The confiscation investigation in relation to Austin and Simm revealed that Starke had helped Austin hide the proceeds of the illicit business in Thailand by withdrawing cash from his UK accounts in the form of traveller's cheques and paying them into accounts he controlled in Bangkok.

In August 2005, Starke was found guilty by a jury of 3 specimen offences of converting criminal property and assisting another to retain the benefit of criminal conduct and later sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.

Her boyfriend Austin had previously been sentenced to 4 years imprisonment and Simm who had pleaded guilty early in the proceedings 2.5 years. Confiscation Orders totalling £1.4m were made against the two men.