By Lorna Hughes
A Surrey man, Calin Barta, 29, has been sentenced to four years and ten months in prison after being convicted of laundering over £2 million through 70 bank accounts. Initially arrested three years ago in connection with indecent images of children, Barta fled the UK to Romania while on bail. He was eventually tracked down and returned to the UK in February, where he faced charges of conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, and possession of indecent images.
Barta’s crime spree began when he set up numerous bank accounts under different aliases, enabling him to funnel millions of pounds through a complex web of transactions. Officers investigating his involvement in child exploitation discovered 38 passports, each with different names but featuring the same photo, along with bank card readers and multiple mobile phones at his Woking home.
Despite the scale of his criminal activities, it wasn’t until Barta had fled the country that Surrey Police’s Economic Crime Unit continued to build their case against him. They uncovered his involvement in a larger organised crime group and worked with the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Metropolitan Police to bring him back to face justice.
At Guildford Crown Court on September 20, Barta pleaded guilty to multiple charges and was handed a lengthy sentence. In addition to the prison term, he was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) related to the indecent images offences. Following his sentence, Barta is set to face deportation to Romania.
