London: A Pakistani father-son businessmen duo who cheated people from the Indian sub-continent of nearly 50,000 pounds have been jailed for two years each after pocketing money that was supposed to be transferred to India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Siyed Asem, 58, and his son Syed Bukhari, 25, had overstayed their UK visas but ran a shop in Gloucester that promised a money transfer service offering excellent exchange rates to customers sending money to the Indian sub-continent.
Over 20 customers were cheated when they realised that the money handed over to the duo in pounds never reached their destinations. The two will be deported to Pakistan after completing their sentence, the Daily Mail reported on Tuesday.
Jailing the two, Judge Jamie Tabor described their offences against their own Asian community as ‘despicable’ and said said it was ‘extraordinary’ that the men had been able to run a shop and set up the money transfer business when they were both illegal overstayers and Asem was bankrupt. Asem came to the UK on a visitor’s permit eight years ago and never left. (PTI)