£1.5m software piracy gang sunk

Four people have been found guilty of running a multi-million pound software counterfeiting ring.

Four people have been found guilty of running a multi-million pound software counterfeiting ring.

The gang, which specialised in Microsoft products, including Windows and Windows NT Server, are believed to have sold millions of pounds worth of fake software throughout the UK.

Ringleader Sikander Qureshi, 55, from Stanmore, was convicted of conspiracy to defraud Microsoft, together with Shaheen Parveen, 42, from Kingsbury, her brother Babar Manzoor, 25, who jumped bail and fled to Pakistan, and Zafar Ahmed, 40, of East Ham.

The gang is said to have got away with £1.5m, which was sent to contacts in Pakistan.

Julia Phillpot, Microsoft's anti-piracy manager, said these actions were "depriving legitimate resellers of business. What is even more worrying is that resellers can be legally exposed, even if they are unwittingly selling products that impact on the Microsoft trademark. We would recommend that resellers always go through an authorised distribution channel to avoid this problem," she said.

The fraudsters were caught following joint investigations by the National Crime Squad, Microsoft and trading standards officers.

The fraud ring came to light after a Heathrow customs officer intercepted a package containing hundreds of forged CDs sent from a business address in Thailand, which was destined for Qureshi's east London accountancy practice.

Hackney Borough Council Trading Standards officers raided the premises, discovering counterfeit software, a shrink-wrapping machine and cellophane.

Raids on Ahmed's and Parveen's homes, and storage units in London, revealed more counterfeiting material, including Microsoft authenticity certificates stolen by armed robbers from a printing factory in Scotland.

During the trial, which began in January, prosecutor Mark Wyeth revealed that Qureshi had visited Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan to negotiate deals with large-scale counterfeiting operations to import illegal Microsoft products into the UK.

Sentencing was adjourned for pre-sentence reports.

Also published in Computer Reseller News