A woman who was found guilty of managing brothels and money laundering last year in Cardiff Crown Court, has today been ordered to pay back £2.6 million.

Following extensive police investigations, five women pleaded guilty in December 2007 to managing and assisting in running of brothels and money laundering. These related to four separate premises in the Cardiff and Swindon areas.

The women were sentenced in January 2008, and a woman from Carmarthen received a 12-month suspended sentence for managing four brothels and money laundering.

Following her conviction in Dec 2007, she was the focus of a Proceeds of Crime Act confiscation investigation by the Regional Asset Recovery Team. At a hearing in February 2009, the Court concluded that her activities resulted in a criminal benefit of £4 million. At today’s hearing in Merthyr Crown Court, she was not present and her representative stated she was out of the country; she was ordered to pay £2.6 million within 6 months. If she fails to pay within the specified time period she will be liable to serve an additional prison term of 4 years in default and will still owe the money.

Previous Proceeds of Crime Act hearings in this case identified criminal benefits of over £270,000 with Confiscation orders totalling in excess of £116,000 being made against the four others convicted.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Dodd, Head of Regional Asset Recovery Team (Wales) said:

 “The extent of the woman's offending bought her a significant lifestyle which we will now dismantle. Our colleagues in South Wales Police identified the original offences; the expertise of RART officers traced assets, restrained properties and obtained the Confiscation Orders. The RART will now assist the Courts Service to enforce the orders and ensure that she pays what is owed, or serves the additional sentence. This end-to-end co-operation will continue to be focused on those who seek to profit from such criminality”