'Swiftray' could lose Marbella villa after being told to pay back £1m

Anthony Kane, 43, was sentenced to seven years in prison in July 2024 for a large-scale money laundering offences
-Credit:Merseyside Police


An EncroChat money launderer has had over £1m seized from him by police with officers chasing a further £4m of assets including a Marbella villa. Anthony Kane, 43, was sentenced to seven years in prison in July 2024 for large-scale money laundering offences after he pleaded half way through his trial.

Kane had become the focus of Merseyside Police Operation Bono in December 2021. The investigation began by tracing his criminal activity back to February 2018, when he was stopped by the Met Police driving an Audi SQ5 in Camden.

At the time he was found with nearly €214,360 in cash. In August 2018, the money was forfeited by Westminster Magistrates' Court at an uncontested hearing on the basis that it was the proceeds of crime.

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Police had also seized several phones from Kane without realising that one was a device used by criminals to operate EncroChat. At the time of the seizure the EncroChat network was still relatively new and it wouldn't be until the early months of 2020 that law enforcement would have access to the phones following a hack by European police.

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However, once the network was broken into and the data was shared the Operation Bono team were able to identify Kane as the man behind the EncroChat handles 'Swiftray' and 'Dual-time'. In October 2022, Merseyside Police executed three simultaneous warrants at addresses within Merseyside, including at Kane's home address on Cleveley Cottage in Allerton.

Drone and bodycam footage shows officers in the force Land Rover gaining entry into the Grade II listed property before they smash the front window and door and arrest Kane inside. Searches of the house and garage led to the seizures of £254,990 in cash and 16 watches with an estimated value of £950,000, including a Richard Mille limited edition PSG watch worth around £350,000.

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Over £150,000 worth of assets, including vehicles, jewellery, artwork, and designer clothing was also recovered. Investigators obtained a court order to restrain Kane’s assets including several houses, within both the UK and abroad, vehicles, land and money held in bank accounts.

Before his trial, Kane pleaded guilty to acting as a high value dealer without being registered as such on the appropriate register, failing to establish and maintain policies, controls and procedures to mitigate and manage effectively the risks of money laundering, three counts of fraudulent evasion of income tax and two counts of cheating the public revenue.

Cash seized from Anthony Kane, found in the loft space of his garage
Cash seized from Anthony Kane, found in the loft space of his garage -Credit:Merseyside Police

Although Kane admitted being the user of the EncroChat handset, he denied any involvement with criminals. He instead claimed the device was new and considered to be the latest gadget used as part of his business activity. However, a trial in July last year heard Kane used the handset to contact several criminal associates including:

‘Satintown’ – Gavin Jones, who was jailed for 14 years for class A supply, ‘Dior-six’ – Robert Bennett, who was sentenced to 19.5 years in prison for class A importation,‘Velvet Royal’ – Alan Roberts, who was jailed for nine years for class A supply, ‘Lucozade’ – Michael Martin, sentenced to 12 years in prison for class A supply/firearms offences, and ‘Lesserhedge’ – Nathan Harding, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for class A/B supply.

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Discussions with Bennett in May 2020 also identified Kane's involvement in the criminal transfer of a bag containing £167,200 of cash at Wavertree Car Centre in Liverpool, through recently-convicted money launderer Christopher Roper, 41. The ECHO covered the sentencing of Roper along with a number of his associates, including police killer Timmy Donovan, at Manchester Crown Court this week.

The jury in Kane's trial was shown CCTV footage of the meeting which the investigation team had been able to recover. Halfway through his trial, Kane pleaded guilty to a further 11 offences including two counts of possession of criminal property; two counts of converting criminal property; two counts of acquiring criminal property, transferring criminal property; three counts of disguising criminal property and being concerned in an arrangement which facilitates the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property.

Kane appeared today, February 4 at Liverpool Magistrates' Court where he was ordered to forfeit around £900,000 in watches, jewellery, artwork and sculptures. This is in addition to £254,990 cash which was forfeited on Thursday, January 23. Merseyside Police said further work is ongoing in relation to other assets identified in the course of the investigation, including attempts to restrain a villa in Marbella.

A Marbella villa owned by Anthony Kane
A Marbella villa owned by Anthony Kane -Credit:Merseyside Police

Detective Sergeant Rob Brown, who led the investigation into Kane, said: "During the course of this complex investigation, we established that Anthony Kane was, in the words of the prosecution, a 'criminal concierge', who was involved in the illicit trading of high value watches and vehicles with criminals.

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Kane committed a wide range of money laundering offences for his own gain, which included the use of several sham companies and enabled criminal associates involved in drug trafficking to disguise their true sources of income.

"For several years Kane had not declared any income to HMRC. He was however living a luxurious lifestyle which is evident from the large amounts of cash, watches, and personal property recovered from his residence. This was a long-running investigation during which the team worked in collaboration with the North West Organised Crime Unit and the National Crime Agency.

"The imprisonment of Kane removed an important cog in the wheels of organised crime across Merseyside and beyond. Kane's activities facilitated the serious harm and risk caused by organised crime groups who operate in our communities, and I hope the significant prison sentence will act as a powerful deterrent to anyone who would consider helping fellow criminals to operate.

"We have identified and restrained an estimated £4m worth of Kane’s assets, including a villa in Marbella worth approximately £1m. Around £1.1m has already been forfeited.

"We will now continue to use criminal and civil powers to remove these assets and to ensure that those communities who suffer the harm caused by serious and organised crime now see that money being used for good, through supporting local organisations and initiatives."