🔴 Money Laundering Trial Date Set For Tiktok Lawyer Akhmed Yakoob

Solicitor & ex-mayoral candidate Akhmed Yakoob denies laundering millions. Trial set for 2027 amid claims of political targeting over Gaza stance.

A Birmingham solicitor who stood in both the West Midlands mayoral election and the 2024 general election will face trial in summer 2027 over allegations of money laundering.

Akhmed Yakoob, 37, and co-defendant Nabeel Afzal, 38, an accountant from Birmingham, appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday, July 15. Both men deny charges of money laundering, encouraging money laundering, and failing to apply customer due diligence measures when establishing business relationships.

The charges follow a National Crime Agency investigation into suspected laundering of millions of pounds between February 18, 2020, and January 8, 2021. A trial date has been fixed for August 23, 2027, with proceedings expected to last several weeks. Both defendants remain on unconditional bail.

SOLICITOR KNOWN FOR SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE

Yakoob, of Aldridge in Walsall, is a solicitor known for his high-profile social media presence, where he typically showcases defence strategies he has successfully employed for clients in cases of alleged drug offences and alleged violent offences. He is widely recognised for the catchphrase: “There is a defence for every offence.”

INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE STOOD ON PRO-GAZA PLATFORM

In May 2024, Yakoob stood as an independent candidate in the West Midlands mayoral election, coming third with 69,621 votes. He later contested the Birmingham Ladywood parliamentary seat during the general election, again as an independent, and campaigning on a pro-Gaza platform. He narrowly lost to Labour’s Shabana Mahmood, finishing just 3,421 votes behind.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COMMENTS LED TO BACKLASH

In June 2024, Yakoob apologised after he appeared in a podcast where guests joked about domestic violence. He was heard responding to a comment about “smacking” a partner, and also said, “70% of hell is going to be women.” The remarks prompted widespread criticism from women’s rights organisations and community figures. Yakoob later described the incident as a mistake and said he was “mortified.”

SRA INVESTIGATING FALSE RACISM VIDEO CLAIMS & TEACHER DOXXING CONTROVERSY

Yakoob is also under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority after he shared a doctored video online that falsely accused a West Midlands teacher of using a racial slur. The teacher and her school were named in the post, prompting online abuse and threats.