A Manchester crook who went on the run when his handwritten ledger books implicated him in a multi-million pound money laundering fraud has been sentenced in his absence.

Jamshed Bhatti, 60, formerly of Stockport Road, Longsight, was caught with £50,970 in cash when HMRC investigators searched his home in August 2015. Two handwritten records of his financial accounts were also found and helped prove that almost £3.5 million had passed through Mr Bhatti’s hands in the previous three months.

Mr Bhatti was charged in December 2016 with money laundering, but he absconded to Pakistan before his trial. He was found guilty...