Anti-corruption expert wife, 41, is cleared of laundering proceeds of Commonwealth Secretariat lawyer husband’s £1.3million alleged fraud
- Melissa Khemani, 41, cleared of laundering £61k between October 2018-2019
- Her husband Joshua Brien, 47, allegedly defrauded Commonwealth Secretariat
- He is also accused of failing to inform his new employer of reason he was sacked
- Brien appeared in court via video and spoke only to confirm name and address
An anti-corruption expert has been cleared of laundering some of the proceeds of her Commonwealth Secretariat lawyer husband’s alleged £1.3million fraud.
Melissa Khemani, 41, had been accused of laundering £61,000 between October 2018 and 2019, but was cleared of the charge today.
Her husband Joshua Brien, 47, allegedly defrauded the Commonwealth Secretariat by creating false invoices while employed as a legal adviser at the organisation’s headquarters at Marlborough House in Westminster.
Brien, of Notting Hill, West London, is also accused of failing to inform US law firm Colley, where he became general counsel, of the reason he had been dismissed from his previous employer.
Ms Khemani is a renowned anti-corruption expert who also worked at the headquarters of the Commonwealth.
Melissa Khemani (pictured right), 41, had been accused of laundering £61,000 between October 2018 and 2019, but was cleared of the charge today. Her husband Joshua Brien (left), 47, allegedly defrauded the Commonwealth Secretariat
The couple were charged as part of an investigation by the Met’s Economic Crime Command.
Brien, an expert in sea law, is accused of creating false invoices worth £1.3million while employed by the Commonwealth Secretariat.
He is further accused of fraud by failing to inform his new employer the reason he had been sacked.
One of the fraud charges alleges Brien ‘provided fraudulent bank statements claiming to have a bank balance of £641,139.05 when in fact only had £893.45, intending to rent his place of residence’.
The couple (both pictured above) were charged as part of an investigation by the Met’s Economic Crime Command. Brien is further accused of fraud by failing to inform his new employer the reason he had been sacked
He appeared in court via video link and spoke only to confirm his name and address.
Brien is facing three charges of fraud by abuse of position, two charges of fraud by false representation, three charge of acquiring criminal property, concealing criminal property and possession of an article for use in the course of fraud.
The charges date between 1 January 2015 and 29 October last year.
Ms Khemani, of Holland Park, West London, was cleared of a single count of money laundering.