Mohammed Mahee Ferdhaus Jalil ( bn, মোহাম্মদ মাহী ফেরদৌস জলীল; born 13 April 1973) is a Bangladeshi-born British businessman, founder of

Channel S Channel S is a UK-based, free-to-air television channel targeting the British Bangladeshi community. The channel was established on 16 December 2004 by Mahee Ferdous Jalil, a Bangladeshi businessman in London. On Sky it at first had a timesha ...

, owner of Prestige Auto Group and television presenter.

Early life

Jalil was born on 13 April 1973, into a Sylheti Muslim family in

Sylhet District Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট), located in north-east Bangladesh, is the divisional capital and one of the four districts in the Sylhet Division. History Sylhet district was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Bengal Pro ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. The family later migrated to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, eventually settling in

Southern England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes G ...

Career

Jalil founded

which began broadcasting in December 2004. He founded Prestige Auto Group, which later became Diamond Auto Group – based in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

, London. He also presents talk show ''Reality with Mahee'' which airs every Thursday at 8.30 pm on Channel S.

Controversy

Kidnapping

On 25 May 2011, Jalil was bundled into a car at gunpoint outside the offices of Channel S in Clifford Road, Walthamstow, London at 1:30 am. He was then driven to an Indian restaurant in West London where he was hooded, bound, beaten, tortured and repeatedly demanded £250,000 ransom. Jalil was eventually released by one of the kidnappers, driven to the edge of London's A406 North Circular Road and given £30 to get a taxi. Jalil made his way home, called the police, and was taken to hospital for treatment for burns and internal injuries. In June and July 2011, Mohammed Iqbal Hussain, 44, ATN Bangla CEO Hafiz Alam Bakhsh, 39, and businessman Sadek Ali, 41, were charged with conspiracy to kidnap. Later, Abul Aktar, 38, was also charged. In February 2012, after a month-long trial at Snaresbrook Crown , Bakhsh, Ali and Aktar were found not guilty of conspiracy to kidnap, Hussain was found guilty of conspiracy to kidnap, blackmail and assault causing grievous bodily harm. On 15 June 2013, Hussain was sentenced to a 32-year prison term (15 years for kidnap, 10 years for grievous bodily harm and 7 years for blackmail). Jalil suffered

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...

and psychological difficulties from the physical and mental ordeal.

Insurance fraud

Jalil committed

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...

offences in 2008 while awaiting trial for conspiracy to defraud. On 4 August 2008, he was found guilty at Croydon Crown Court for conspiracy to defraud for car

insurance fraud Insurance fraud is any act committed to defraud an insurance process. It occurs when a claimant attempts to obtain some benefit or advantage they are not entitled to, or when an insurer knowingly denies some benefit that is due. According to the ...

over "crash-for-cash" staged accidents between 2002 and 2003 and sentenced to an 18-month prison term. He was released after serving seven months of his term and made his first public appearance at the Channel S Community Awards on 30 March 2009. Jalil was on bail awaiting trial from the previous fraud when at the time he became involved in the next fraud. Between 2006 and 2010, he accepted at least £500,000 into bank accounts under his control and laundered some of the profits of a £3 million "crash-for-cash" scam, while knowing the money had been defrauded out of insurance companies. Jalil admitted to playing a background role behind Motor Alliance, an insurance company which made at least £1.17 million during the four-year scam. On 8 July 2013, he pleaded to guilty to money laundering and admitted to possessing criminal property between 19 July 2006 and 31 October 2010 under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 just before he was due to stand trial at Southwark Crown Court. Between November 2005 and October 2008, at least 124 claims were made by individuals linked to Motor Alliance, a company run by Jalil's brother, Mohammed Samsul Haque, a series of London-based accident management firms were used as a front to hide fraudulent insurance claims offering storage facilities and replacement vehicle hire. In October 2011, Haque and five other men were sentenced to a total of more than 12 years in prison following a

Metropolitan Police Service The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

investigation called Operation Scarp. Jalil was the final person to be prosecuted under Operation Scarp. In August, he was ordered to pay £84,000 to

AXA Axa S.A. (styled as ''AXA'' or GIG in the Middle East) is a French multinational insurance company. The head office is in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. It also provides investment management and other financial services. The Ax ...

Insurance. Jalil initially denied involvement in the scam, but pleaded guilty to money laundering when he appeared before the court in July 2014, just as he was due to stand trial at Southwark Crown Court. He was freed on bail until his sentencing hearing on 13 September. Sentencing was adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be prepared and a psychological report to deal with the incident leading Jalil suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. On 17 February 2014, he was sentenced to a three-year prison term for money laundering at Southwark Crown Court. He admitted possessing criminal property and was also banned from being a director for 10 years. He was the final person to be jailed under Operation Scarp.

References