A CROOKED ex-councillor who laundered more than £92,000 in cash has been jailed for 10 months.

Businessman Mohammed Ansar, 49, was caught out when police investigating the ill-gotten gains of his drug-dealing sons, Shamraiz and Khobibe, found amounts of money that could not be otherwise explained.

The father of seven, said to have been dodging paying tax, later owned up, claiming he knew the cash represented the proceeds of tax evasion, but did not know it was from drug supplying, Burnley Crown Court was told.

Ansar, a former borough and Nelson town councillor, had put up a £10,000 surety in tainted money to get Khobibe bail.

He had also built up a portfolio of property and started a business, St Paul’s Properties, described by the prosecution as “a name with a bank account”.

It had been set up, but not in Ansar’s name, allegedly to evade tax, but was paid about £110,000 from Pendle Borough Council in housing benefits, as well as £39,000 in private rents.

The defendant, of St Paul’s Road, Nelson, had earlier admitted five counts of disguising, converting, or transferring criminal property, between April 2003 and January 2007.

Ansar will face a Proceeds of Crime hearing at a later date.

Money laundering allegations against Amer Ansar, 23, Sohail Ansar, 30, Raqiya Ansar, 50, and Sadiya Ansar, 25, all of St Paul’s Road, have been left to lie on the file. They had denied the charges.

Jeremy Grout-Smith, prosecuting, claimed Ansar was the instigator of money laundering activities.

He had built up a property portfolio from the proceeds of his own fraudulent conduct and the criminal conduct of Shamraiz and Khobibe Ansar.

The crown could not say how much of the money came from drugs and how much from fraud.

He said Shamraiz and Khobibe were both jailed for conspiring to supply heroin, between April and August 2007.

Ricky Holland, for Ansar, said although St Paul’s Properties was not registered for tax, it was a legitimate business.

Ansar, who came to this country in 1969, had run a clothes shop, a taxi firm, an off licence, and had worked as an HGV driver.

Mr Holland said the defendant had considerable standing in his community and the offences were a 'quite considerable fall from grace.'