Smiling Akhmed Yakoob on a striking news card announcing the breaking news of his not guilty plea.

‘TikTok Lawyer’ Akhmed Yakoob Denies Helping Launder Criminal Cash Millions

A West Midlands lawyer and former political candidate has denied helping criminals launder millions of pounds in dirty money. Solicitor Akhmed Yakoob, 37,…

Reported from court

Jason King

19 June 2025 at 14:35Updated 26 April 2026 at 08:562 min read

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A West Midlands lawyer and former political candidate has denied helping criminals launder millions of pounds in dirty money.

Solicitor Akhmed Yakoob, 37, who stood as an independent in both the West Midlands mayoral and general elections, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court this week charged with serious money laundering offences after a National Crime Agency (NCA) probe.

He is accused of assisting organised criminals to clean vast sums of illicit cash between February 2020 and January 2021.

Yakoob, of Aldridge in Walsall, and his co-defendant, accountant Nabeel Afzal, 38, of Edgbaston, Birmingham, each face three charges:

Prosecutors told the court that Yakoob helped individuals “who wanted help to launder cash of millions of pounds”. Both men pleaded not guilty and were granted unconditional bail.

If convicted, they each face up to 14 years in prison.

Yakoob, a self-styled “TikTok lawyer” with a large online following, made headlines earlier this year when he came second in Birmingham Ladywood during the general election, challenging Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood and taking 12,137 votes to her 15,558.

He also came third in the West Midlands mayoral race with 69,621 votes.

In court, the former candidate cut a calm figure as the charges were read aloud. The case has now been sent to Southwark Crown Court, where the pair are due to appear on 15 July.

Yakoob previously represented two brothers involved in a confrontation with Greater Manchester Police at Manchester Airport in July 2024.

The NCA — the UK’s leading agency for tackling serious organised crime — has remained tight-lipped about further details of the alleged operation, but the charges indicate that investigators believe Yakoob played a key role in enabling criminals to disguise the origins of large volumes of illegal cash.