Former investment adviser Richard Faithfull has been sentenced to 5 years and 10 months in prison for laundering money.

He was involved in laundering up to £2.5m for a UK 'boiler room' investment operation which pushed worthless shares between June 2017 and August 2018.

The former investment adviser and stockbroker was caught following a joint investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority and the City of London Police..

To avoid detection he fled to Ukraine and lived a life of luxury while continuing his criminal activities, enlisting the assistance of local criminal groups abroad.

The FCA said that following his arrest, he spun a "web of lies" to try and throw the FCA off the case but at court hearing held last week he finally accepted that he was a, "thoroughly dishonest person."

He had pleaded guilty to the money laundering offence in April but argued that his role in the case had been minimal. The FCA did not accept his basis of plea and the matter was listed for a Newton hearing – a trial of fact on a plea before a single judge last week – to determine the basis on which he should be sentenced.

As a result of the crime Mr Faithfull has also been disqualified from being a company director for 10 years.

He will also be sentenced soon for a separate Essex firearms case.

The court heard that Mr Faithful laundered up to £2.5m as part of a trans-national, organised crime group for over 12 months, laundering the proceeds of at least seven professionally-run, overseas investment frauds.

It was a sophisticated operation, using multiple accounts and front companies in numerous jurisdictions, the FCA said today.

The regulator said he was able to use his knowledge gained as an investment adviser to help the fraudsters defraud victims by paying fictional 'dividends' from bank accounts controlled by him.

These payments made it look as though the underlying investments were generating genuine returns. He also involved innocent parties to assist him with his crime.

Following a four day hearing, His Honour Judge Tomlinson rejected the submissions made by Mr Faithfull’s legal team and accepted the FCA’s statement of the case.

Judge Tomlinson said the case involved “serious offending” which was linked to the “human misery caused by boiler room fraud” and that “money coming in [to accounts controlled by Mr Faithfull] was not being invested, it was simply being slaughtered.”

Mark Steward, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: 'Mr Faithfull’s actions showed little compassion for those affected by the underlying criminality instead seeking only to make a profit for himself and others. The FCA remain committed to ensuring that those who choose to break the law are brought to justice. We remind investors to check the FCA’s register as part of their due diligence when looking to make investments."

The FCA will pursue confiscation proceedings against Mr Faithfull to try and seize his illegal gains.