POCA hearing awards £525,000 against London doctor

A London doctor who ran an illegal money-lending business from two hospitals in Harrow, has been ordered to pay back thousands of pounds in proceeds of crime.

Following a hearing at Harrow Crown Court last week,Dr Arjan Damjibhai Savani, 49, of St Paul's Avenue in Kenton, was ordered to pay back £525,000. Dr Savani was given a 10 month prison sentence, suspended for two years in October 2016 for running an illegal money lending business worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. He must pay the money within 3 months or face a default sentence of 5 years in prison.

Dr Savani was investigated by the England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT), working in partnership with Brent Council's Trading Standards Department and the Metropolitan Police. In December 2015, when a warrant was executed, IMLT officers seized loan records which demonstrated that the loan shark had received payments totalling £525,000.

When interviewed under caution by IMLT officers, Dr Savani admitted to issuing loans ranging from £500 to £50,000 to his customers since 2011. He said he knew he was acting illegally but was of the view that it would take too long to obtain a license which would have curtailed his money making. An examination of records held by Dr Savani revealed that victims had often had loans totalling thousands of pounds.

Between January 2011 and his arrest date in December 2015, Dr Savani, a Consultant at Central Middlesex and Northwich Park Hospitals in Harrow, ran a lucrative money lending business from his places of employment.

During an earlier hearing, Simon Mortimer, prosecuting, explained to the court how Dr Savani deliberately preyed on members of the Filipino community who also worked at the hospital over a prolonged period of time. Dr Savani knew his victims could ill afford the payments and was aware that the Filipino community places a great deal of importance on honour and the non-repayment of a debt would be shameful to the victim.

Tony Quigley, Head of Service for the National Illegal Money Lending Team said: "Another loan shark has been ordered to pay back for the crime that they once committed. We are continuing to crack down on illegal money lending and bringing those who break the law to justice. It's important to remember that loan sharks are only motivated by greed and should never been used."

Nationally, Illegal Money Lending Teams have secured more than 370 prosecutions for illegal money lending and related activity, leading to nearly 318 years' worth of custodial sentences. They have written off £71.9 million worth of illegal debt and helped over 26,500 people.