Published on
A Bromley trader has had assets totalling almost £19,000 seized following a confiscation hearing at Croydon Crown Court on Friday 2 December 2011.
The hearing to recoup some of the proceeds of crime referred to a court case earlier in the year when Naqibullah Khatibi, a director of Roma Boutique in Widmore Road, Bromley, pleaded guilty to ten charges of selling or having in his possession counterfeit goods, including £30,000 worth of Gucci shoes, Ralph Lauren tops and Ed Hardy t-shirts. Khatibi, 41, of Garden Avenue, Mitcham was sentenced to six months imprisonment in June this year following the prosecution by Trading Standards under the Trade Marks Act.
His company, Roma Boutique Ltd, was fined £1,000 for each of the ten charges under the Trade Marks Act and he was ordered to pay £5,000 in costs. Bromley Trading Standards had raided his shop in Bromley in January 2009 following a complaint by a consumer. The Judge at the time had commented that the Trading Standard's investigation was impeccable and thorough.
Cllr Tim Stevens, Portfolio Holder for Public Protection and Safety said: "We take this type of crime very seriously. In these economic times we have to safeguard honest businesses and the courts clearly take a dim view of this type of offence given the severe penalties which have been handed out in this case. It should send a clear message to anyone else who thinks they can get away with conducting a dishonest business."
Ends
- For media enquiries, please contact Susie Clark in Corporate Communications, on 020 8461 7911 or email susie.clark@bromley.gov.uk
