Accountant cleared 13 years after conviction
An accountant who was jailed for allegedly prejudicing a police investigation into a drug-dealing gang has had his conviction overturned by the court of appeal.
Mohammed Yusef Patel, a former accountant with the Muslim Commercial Bank, served 28 months of a four-year sentence, following his sentencing at Snaresbrook crown court in 1987.
The accountant from Stamford Hill in London, always maintained that he was innocent and on hearing his conviction had been quashed, Patel claimed: ‘This is total vindication for me.’
During the trial, prosecution lawyers alleged that Patel broke an order banning him from communicating with a number of clients in Portugal, who were subject to an international narcotics investigation.
On Friday, however, appeal judge Lord Justice Pill said fresh inquiries revealed there was no evidence that Patel made any disclosures to the clients.
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