Ł7m fraudster freed over his flashbacks to the Holocaust

Daily Mail
Apr. 01, 2007

A Holocaust survivor who experienced flashbacks to his war ordeal after he was jailed for his part in a Ł6.9million money laundering operation was freed as an 'act of mercy'.

Since being incarcerated five weeks ago, 76-year-old Mendel Rand, originally from Poland, had relived daily the trauma of being kept hidden from the Nazis in horrible conditions as a boy, the Court of Appeal heard.

Mr Justice Openshaw accepted that 'the wretched old man' had suffered enough punishment for his involvement in the crime which had brought shame to his family and disgraced him in the eyes of his strict community of Hasidic Jews.

"The resultant shame will no doubt bring a heavy burden for him to carry for the rest of his life," said the judge. "We think, as an act of mercy, he should be allowed to go free."

Rand's 18-month prison term was replaced with a two-year suspended sentence. He will face a confiscation hearing next month.

Rand was convicted in November 2004 of a money laundering conspiracy, which involved helping cigarette smugglers dispose of the proceeds of their crime.

He was jailed in February this year after a delay caused by legal debate on the general issue of money laundering and by the ongoing trials of his co-accused.

Jonathan Goldberg QC, appearing for Rand, called on the appeal judges in London to suspend his client's sentence in an 'act of compassion'.

He said a rabbi from Rand's community, who had visited him in jail, said his incarceration was 'bringing back nightmares of his war experience as a young man'.

A report to the court said Rand, of Golders Green, North London, was an 'old and frail man who had experienced severe trauma in his lifetime' and was having flashbacks about the war.

Mr Justice Openshaw said that when Rand's parents were arrested in Krakow during the Second World War, their son was kept hidden from the Nazis by a sympathiser 'often in cellars in the cold and dark, often under-nourished and, of course, in constant fear of capture'.

"This experience has cast a pall over his whole life," the judge added. "Now he daily relives the experience."

The judge, sitting with Mr Justice Walker, heard that Rand was a businessman held in high esteem before his conviction.

However the judge noted that Rand's standing in the community was what enabled him to play a key role in laundering the proceeds of cigarette smuggling, as his legitimate business contacts allowed him to move large sums of money 'without raising suspicion'.

On August 7, 2002, Rand was observed picking up a holdall in Newcastle which he dropped off in Manchester at the home of the man who was believed to be leading the cigarette smuggling conspiracy. Customs officers struck and recovered Ł220,000 inside.

They then found a ledger at Rand's home detailing entries appearing to correspond with the movement of Ł6.9million over eight months. The judge said Rand appeared to earn a commission of Ł63,000.

Mr Goldberg said that, aside from the effects of imprisonment, Rand's circumstances meant his punishmentwas harsher than would be experienced by a normal citizen.

His client was once a stalwart of his Hasidic community where - much like the Amish in Pennsylvania - television, computers and other outside influences were banned.

Such an emphasis was placed on being law-abiding that his client was now disgraced.

The court also heard that Rand's wife had been severely injured in a car accident and was housebound without his care.