Pro-Gaza mayoral candidate charged with money laundering
Akhmed Yakoob was arrested following an investigation by the National Crime Agency.
The 37-year-old stood as an independent candidate at both the West Midlands mayoral election and the general election last year.
He will appear at Westminster magistrates' court on June 17 alongside accountant Nabeel Afzal, 38, with each facing three criminal charges.
Mr Yakoob, of Perry Barr, and Mr Azfal, of Edgbaston, both in Birmingham, are accused of money laundering, encouraging money laundering and contravening a requirement to apply customer due diligence measures when establishing a business relationship.
The offences are alleged to have been committed between Feb 18 2020 and Jan 8 2021.
Mr Yakoob unsuccessfully stood in Shabana Mahmood's Birmingham Ladywood constituency in the last general election on a pro-Gaza, anti-Labour platform, where he was endorsed by George Galloway.
He came in second to the Justice Secretary, winning 12,137 votes to her 15,558, and came third in the West Midlands mayoral election with 69,621 votes.
He also represented two brothers who were involved in an incident involving police officers at Manchester airport in July last year.
Mr Yakoob, who has been described as 'the TikTok lawyer', has thousands of followers on the social media platform.
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