Siyed Asem, 58, and Syed Bukhari, 25, ran the authentic business from a corner shop in Gloucester.

However, when clients handed them their cash they fraudulently skimmed much more money off the top of the sums and they also offered false exchange rates and stole the difference.

Gloucester Crown Court was told the men set the shop up selling sweets and food to earn a living.
They soon began presenting their legal money transfer service to customers with relatives in South Asia.

Dozens of customers who sent cash to relatives in India and Bangladesh were conned by the crooks.

Bukhari admitted 11 offences of fraud between January and March this year and that he made bogus descriptions to customers, that his money transfer business was in a relatively sound financial position and that money would be transferred at a preferential rate of exchange.

Asem admitted 12 charges of the same nature.

Lisa Hennessy, CPS, said Bukhari was accountable for £33,688 of the total amount of the fraud and Asem £14,518.
'They ran a corner shop. One person paid over two sums of £5,000 - a total of £10,000 - and has lost it.'

Judge Jamie Tabor QC asked 'Where has all the money gone?'

'There is none left,' said Mrs Hennessy. 'We say their total criminal benefit was £51,000 but they have no assets left.

'The money has been used to keep the cashflow going in the shop.

'Everything seems to have been fine between last October and January when money was being transferred. But from January on it starts to fall apart and it is clear that the money has been used to keep things going and they have spent it.

'There doesn’t appear to be any money left. Fifty thousand pounds has gone in two and a half months.'

Sabhia Pathan, defending, said Asem, who was in court helped by an Urdu interpreter, has already been declared bankrupt.

'Both men are overstayers and both have been served with deportation papers,' she said.
'Mr Asem has significant health difficulties.'

Judge Tabor said: 'That’s why he came to this country in the first place.'

The judge said he needed to know how the two illegal immigrants were able to set up a corner shop if they were overstayers and had no legal status in the UK.

Bukhari was remanded in custody and Asem placed on bail for pre-sentence reports.
But he warned them prison sentences were inevitable when they return to court on August 10.



The judge said he needed to know how the two illegal immigrants were able to set up a corner shop if they were overstayers and had no legal status in the UK.

Your Honour, this is Britain, we have no immigration controls of any kind, and as soon as you get here you can stay or completely disappear if you wish to do so.