Hamza's sons jailed for car scam

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

Hamza's sons, Hamza Kamel, 22, and Mohamed Mostafa, 27, helped run the two-year fraud with the cleric's stepson Mohssin Ghailam, 28, Southwark Crown Court has heard.

Judge Gregory Stone QC, sentencing seven men for their involvement in the case, said it involved "serious criminality" and he had no alternative but to jail them all.

He said Kamel, of Acton, west London had pleaded guilty to counts of dishonest handling of stolen cars and money laundering, and would go to prison for two and a half years.

Mostafa, also of Acton, had pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud, which involved the use of a false French passport and a utility bill, and would go to prison for two years.

Ghailam had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and was described as a "key player". He was jailed for four years.

The court heard that the plotters exploited a loophole in the vehicle registration system to target expensive makes of car including Mercedes, BMW and Range Rover which had been left in long-stay car parks.

Pretending the vehicles were theirs, they tricked the DVLA into transferring ownership to an alias and sending new log books to front addresses.

Keys were then obtained from dealers and the cars stolen, before being sold to unsuspecting buyers or used as collateral to take out loans which were never repaid.

The court heard the men were arrested on November 5, 2008, following a Met Police investigation into the organised theft and resale of luxury cars in London. The prosecution said officers identified 32 vehicles which were either stolen, targeted for theft or used as collateral to obtain loans fraudulently. The value of the vehicles if they had been sold as new would have exceeded £1 million.