Akhmed Yakoob, 37, and accountant Nabeel Afzal, 38, from Birmingham, have both denied money laundering, encouraging money laundering and contravening a requirement to apply customer due diligence measures

20:48, 15 Jul 2025Updated 08:08, 17 Jul 2025

Solicitor Akhmed Yakoob outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, June 17(Image: PA)

The trial of a former MP candidate who is accused of money laundering will go ahead during the summer of 2027.

Akhmed Yakoob, 37, along with co-accused accountant Nabeel Afzal, 38, from Birmingham, both deny money laundering, encouraging money laundering and contravening a requirement to apply customer due diligence measures.

The pair appeared at Southwark Crown Court, in London, today, Tuesday, July 15.

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The offences are alleged to have happened between February 18, 2020 and January 8, 2021.

A trial date has now been fixed for August 23, 2027.

Yakoob, who is known for his catchphrase “there is a defence for every offence”, received almost 70,000 votes after standing as an independent West Midlands mayoral candidate last May.

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He finished third behind Labour’s Richard Parker and former mayor and Conservative Andy Street.

Yakoob, from Aldridge in Walsall, also narrowly lost out to Labour’s Shabana Mahmood in Birmingham Ladywood at the General Election in July last year.

Again standing as an Independent, he received 12,137 votes – the equivalent to 33 per cent of the vote.

Ms Mahmood, now Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, won 15,558 votes – a majority of just 3,421.

In January, Yakoob announced he was launching a new political movement with young candidates to fight for seats on Birmingham City Council and “drive the Labour party out of power.”