Gold seized from Surrey money launderer while he is on the run

Police said he helped criminals “blur the origins of their cash” by using multiple companies to filter payments, so they would appear legitimate. He took a fee in the process.

Mayhew-Lewis produced fake documents, such as investment records and bank statements, to make payments appear more plausible.

In 2017, he paid £1.6m for the painting Albert Street, 2009 by Auerbach, whose works can fetch as much as £5.5m, police say.

The gold is valued at about £400,000.

The NCA said the items will now be sold and the money spent on public services. Half of it will go back into fighting organised crime.

Barry Vinall, from the international corruption unit, said: “It’s fitting that the money from these items will now be ploughed into fighting organised crime.”