London Fields Brewery owner Jules Whiteway given extra time to repay ‘drugs money’ to taxpayer
Jules Whiteway of London Fields Brewery. Photograph: Tim Sullivan
The owner of the London Fields Brewery has been granted extra time to pay off over £2 million in profits owed to the taxpayer from his days as the ringleader of a “prolific” drugs ring.
Jules Whiteway, who co-founded the London Fields Brewery in 2011, led a £10.5 million operation supplying cocaine to celebrities and City workers.
In 2004, Whiteway and three accomplices admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and were sentenced to a cumulative 36 years in prison.
The four dealers were described at the time by prosecutor Francis Sheridan as a “prolific group of cocaine sellers whose supply activities can only properly be described as being massive.”
At the time of his arrest, Whiteway lived in a house worth £300,000, owned a BMW and had a share in a light aircraft, despite a declared income of just £20,000.
Whiteway, who boasted about laundering “briefcases of cash” from the operation, received a jail sentence of 12 years.
This sentence has since been replaced with a confiscation order which requires him to pay the £2,137,500 profit he had made from his criminal activities.
As of September, he had repaid just £262,000.
Whiteway currently makes £500 monthly repayments to the taxpayer.
In the case’s latest development, Whiteway has been given extra time to make the repayments so that he can grow his business and contribute profits to the confiscation order.
Gavin Irwin, Whiteway’s barrister, argued that the deferment will allow his client to honour international orders, open an events space, and purchase a new fermenter, all of which would bring the business millions of pounds over the coming years.
At a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, District Judge Elizabeth Roscoe ruled that Whiteway’s monthly payments will not increase for at least six months.
The case was adjourned until 26 May 2015 when, as reported by the Evening Standard, Whiteway may then be forced to pay a “significant lump sum”.
Judge Roscoe warned Whiteway, who co-owns the business with his wife, against hiding his assets, many of which are thought to be beyond the reach of prosecutors:
“We have many people who come here showing assets that have suddenly gone to their partner, or a dominant shareholding in a company that becomes less dominant.
“The court wants to see some reassurance that this is not suddenly going to disappear into the ether.”
The ruling comes at a time when repayment of assets of organised criminals are under heavy scrutiny.
Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, criticised the poor levels of repayment earlier this year.
He said: “The public will find it incredible that we are only getting back £1 in every £6 from those who have committed criminal offences but who can afford to pay.”
The National Audit Office has found that as little as 26p per £100 is reclaimed from criminals.
Mr Whiteway declined to comment to the Hackney Citizen.
Luke Graham contributed research
So we’re subsidising yet another criminal just because he is now considered a business man. Still I guess having supplied bankers he’ll know all about using honest peoples money to commit crime. The robber barons still run this country.
He was sentenced to 12 years prison in 2004 but was free and in a position to found a brewery in 2011?
They make really good beer!!! True crafts men
Ali G not sure how closely you follow the judicial process but most sentences qualify for something called parole which means sentences are reduced often up to 50%. Isn’t it better to see someone come out of our prison ‘reform’ system and actually make something of themselves rather than re-offend and cost the taxpayer more money through further prison sentences. Look at the re-offending stats and have a think about it…..
Used to sell there bottled beer in a pub I work in.Had to stop stocking it due to the quality of it deteriorating to a massive degree.
Prinner are you alseep or what. Read the article and tell me how much he owes the HMRC. £2,137,500 and all that he has paid is £262,000.
Yes I do believe in giving a guy a second chance, but he has to remember where the dosh is and pay the HMRC,
Give me Wetherspoons any day. A good beer at a price you can afford and Tim Martin pays his tax bills.
So dodgy. This smacks of an ‘agreement’ to me: ‘okay, we’ll let you off your sentence, as long as you do not reveal the names of said ‘celebrities and city workers’ you supplied’. I love this beer, shame I’ll have to reconsider buying in the future.
What’s so wrong about selling cocaine to bankers? How is it that different to selling beer? The sale of cocaine certainly causes far fewer problems than alcohol.
The profits from cocaine sales are a tax loophole created by government legislation that should be closed by legalisation immediately.
the article is poorly researched. the proceeds of confiscation orders under the POCA are remitted to the secretary of state, not to the HMRC. So it has f*** all to do with the taxpayers.
The self righteous are out in force marking this dude out because, after getting a criminal record, he isn’t just sitting on his estate complaining no one will give him a job (or even just working his 9-5, collecting his cheque and adding nothing), he has created a business that employs people in hackney.
if indeed he is hiding money from the courts then that needs to be demonstrated. But now that he has created a business with value, the state can create a lien over the shares.
@del A Home Office spokesperson told Hackney Citizen: “It is accurate to say it goes back to the taxpayer. For instance, where tax or duty evasion is involved, that cash goes straight to HMRC from where it can be allocated.” – Ed.
so desperate to defend a convicted criminal Del
perhaps you are the man himself
@citizen – except it is not tax or duty evasion – it is a POCA confiscation order. There is no context to your response.
@ali g. not desperate at Ali – but once a man has completed his sentence, he is free to get on with his life. I only pointed out that is exactly what he is doing – and if 1/10 of people in Hackney showed the same level of enterprise, we would all be better off. Why are you desperate to continue to punish him?
what about the people who’s lives he may have ruined by helping them along with their addiction. let’s not forget the knock on effects of that. or the effects on the lives of the people who are forced to produce the cocaine often at gunpoint and in inhumane conditions. he was flying it in with small aircraft, it’s not like he was buying a bit here and there. he was an active cog in the import and trafficking of this drug that has caused death and destruction for many. seems like the playing field is on a bit of an incline
This sociopath’s outfit raided today by HMRC They arrived with a barrister in tow for some reason. They removed a van load of paper files and records, but didn’t stop there. They brought a forklift and started loading large amounts of material, equipment and stock onto trucks. This carried on for nearly 12 hours. Whether they have finished now or just knocked off until tomorrow is unclear. I didn’t see any computers seized, but they may have taken those first, before I was aware of what was happening.
If that’s the end of them, it’ll be good riddance to bad neighbours.
@Del
“if 1/10 of people in Hackney showed the same level of enterprise, we would all be better off.”
If 1/10 people in Hackney trampled on the lives of others, caused the mayhem, misery and disturbance, or displayed the sneering arrogance and aggression which the London Fields Brewery does, Hackney would be uninhabitable except by hipsters and foxes. It certainly wouldn’t be a place where children could live or thrive or where others could make a living. Personally, I don’t mind the foxes.
Both local residents and neighbouring businesses are fed up with them and can’t wait to see the back of their abuse and predation (aka “externalising social costs”). I described them as “sociopathic” above with good reason.
Both the brewery and the “tap room” are closed today, after the raid. Many people hope things will stay that way permanently.
The capacity of this outfit to alienate even people you’d expect to support them, and to keep on doing it, is quite astonishing. They either don’t learn or don’t care -or both! Nothing matters to them but money.
@MartinJames Martin can you email me quickly? need a few other details about what may have happened. gabrielpatricksamuels@gmail.com
@Martin James
“displayed the sneering arrogance and aggression which the London Fields Brewery does” – Please explain further.
It seems like you have a personal vendetta against the brewery and its owner. Maybe spare a thought to the employees of the business which if it is closed like you say will all be out of job.
And also, what exactly is your contribution to society if you’re sitting around for 12 hours watching them being raided?
@Martin James
I agree with you. I think that the place was a sinking ship and that he was living by his own rules regardless of anybody around him.
I don’t think his staff need to be tarnished with the same brush though…and please stop hipster hating…just because someone wears a bobble hat and likes good coffee doesn’t mean they are horrific people…I bet you go to ‘coffee is my cup of tea!’
You’ll be happy to know owner was arrested too. A friend was thinking of having a wedding reception there. Thankfully she didn’t go for it!
I think it’s unfair to attribute an individuals addiction as a sole responsibility of a dealer. It is that individuals responsibility to face their addiction and consequently overcome it. I have a sweet tooth. I know eating sugary foods will probably lead to diabetes. If I succumb to eating chocolate all day every day should I start rallying against every shop in the world for selling it? Or should I rely on myself to know better?
Too often we are making excuses for addicts. Ultimately they are responsible for their actions. If this guy wasn’t selling the coke there would be someone out there just like him ready and waiting.
It seems that the common assumption is that the brewery is a front for something else which doesn’t appear to be the case. The guy has served his time and think about the employees who as Flo pointed out are being tarnished by the same brush.
Pretty sure there are much dodgier operations going on in the borough of Hackney than a small brewery. I really like their beer and have been to a few events in their events space and have always enjoyed myself. Staff are really friendly. But sure, let’s all rally around closing down an independent business that provides employment for local residents because that seems like a reasonable thing to do.
In fact why don’t we just shut everything down and then we can all sit around at home and do nothing ever.
@Vee
No it’s London Field Brewery which seems to have a vendetta against all their neighbours, both residential and other businesses. Children falling asleep at school because these people keep them awake much of the night is no joke, as is the brewery’s “fuck you” attitude to the problems they cause. Ask the business next door in Helmsley Place what they’ve suffered and the response they’ve had.
As for watching the raid for 12 hours I didn’t. I saw all the documents being loaded into a van whn I went out and when I came back in the afternoon I was surprised to see the forklift and big lorry and all the stuff being loaded out. This then carried on for many hours more, mostly while I was WORKING. I could see and hear the loading going on from my window until about 8.30 in the evening.
“It seems that the common assumption is that the brewery is a front for something else which doesn’t appear to be the case. ”
Haven’t heard that one. I don’t know anyone who thinks so. Being a public nuisance and an all-round pain in the arse doesn’t require a “front”.
“The guy has served his time..”
He hasn’t. He’s out on license. Apart from any consequences of the VAT investigation, and the potential 8 year sentence for not complying with the Proceeds of Crime order (not a “fine”), recall to prison for breach the of license terms is always a possibility.
Well Martin James it’s quite obvious you seem to have such a personal vendetta against the guy and the business. As far as I’m aware the space they have at Helmsley place isn’t licensed so how are they to blame for Children being up all night?
As a local resident myself I get more noise issues from the big estate than I have had from any of the local businesses in the area. They’re not the only business around that area as I’m sure you’re aware but are the only business who’s owner has some sort of public smear campaign because he was a dealer in the past.. Ironic considering the amount of drug deals I see go down in Hackney on a regular basis and the amount of people who turn a blind eye until they get on the internet..
As for your ‘I don’t know anyone who thinks so’ – so we’re condemning someone based on public opinion. Where is your proof?
It’s so sad you’re so invested on destroying a business that employs people. As someone who has dealt with the effects of drugs in their family for years I should be the last person making a case for LFB but it’s not the company’s/employees fault the owner made the wrong decisions in the past. Actually find it pretty admirable he’s trying to turn it around.
Maybe if you spent less time obsessing over the brewery and its owner you could get out and enjoy Hackney and celebrate the growth of new businesses..
So, in summary:
The owner of this business is a convicted cocaine smuggler, who still owes a large sum of money to the tax payer for the profits he reaped.
Worse still, he was arrested in December 2014 for tax evasion: VAT from the proceeds of this brewery.
A beer supplier from outside the M25 has recently gone on record with a journalist advising that they have long been supplying beer to the London Fields Brewery – a company claiming its beer is all brewed in Hackney.
With so many other great places to go out in the area, I appeal to you to give this place a miss. And its sister business Climpson & Sons on Broadway Market.
Why line the pockets of these people further?