Crook arrested in Birmingham with £400k of gold in Bentley faces five years - if he's caught

A convicted money launderer arrested in Birmingham after £400,000-worth of gold bars were found in his Bentley is on the run. A painting bought by Lenn Mayhew-Lewis, which could now be worth over £5m, was also seized.

The 69-year-old was caught with eight kilos of gold bars and shavings when he was arrested by West Midlands Police officers acting on NCA intelligence in Birmingham in 2019. A investigation by NCA officers identified he had also bought a painting by German-British painter Frank Auerbach.

It was believed the painting was used by another individual as collateral to secure a £5m loan from a UK auction house. The painting, “Albert Street, 2009”, was purchased in 2017 for £1.6m, but Auerbach’s works can fetch as much as £5.5m.

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The forfeiture was granted at a hearing on Monday, April 29. The items will be sold and the proceeds returned to the public purse. Up to half the money from the sales will go directly into fighting more organised crime, under the Home Office’s Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme.

Mayhew-Lewis, from Oxted, Surrey, was last year convicted of money laundering. He was being sought by the NCA after he fled ahead of his sentencing. He was sentenced in his absence to five years in prison.

The criminal assets were seized by NCA officers during an investigation into prolific money launderer Mayhew-Lewis whose clientele included drug traffickers. Officers from the NCA’s International Corruption Unit applied for the forfeiture of the gold and Auerbach landscape under the Listed Assets provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 – legislation which enables law enforcement to recover property such as precious metals and artwork believed to be derived from or intended for use in crime.

Senior investigating officer Barry Vinall, from the International Corruption Unit, said: “The gold and the painting are proceeds of crime and would most likely have been used to finance further criminal ventures, resulting in more harm in our communities, or to fund luxurious lifestyles for criminals. It’s fitting that the money from these items will now be ploughed into fighting organised crime.

“By doggedly pursuing criminals’ cash, the NCA is disrupting some of the serious and organised crime harming countless people across the UK every day.”

The NCA recovered around £70m in criminal cash and assets in the financial year 2022-23, a significant portion of which was reinvested in tackling serious and organised crime in the UK. Anyone with information on Mayhew-Lewis’ whereabouts is urged to call the NCA on 0370 496 7622. Alternatively, give information 100 per cent anonymously by calling independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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