CyberCriminal.com

Mohammed Nawaz Sattar

We are investigating Mohammed Nawaz Sattar
for allegedly attempting to conceal critical reviews and adverse news from Google by improperly submitting copyright takedown notices. This includes potential violations such as impersonation, fraud, and perjury.

Mohammed Nawaz Sattar

PARTIES INVOLVED: Mohammed Nawaz Sattar

ALLEGATIONS: Perjury, Fraud, Impersonation

INCIDENT DATE: 11 Dec 2022

INVESTIGATED BY: Ethan Katz

TOOLS USED: Lumen, FakeDMCA, SecurityTrails

CASE NO: 4611/A/2024

CRIME TYPE: Intellectual Property Scam

PUBLISHED ON: 26 Nov 2024

REPORTED BY: FakeDMCA.com

JURISDICTION: USA

A summary of what happened?

Mohammed Nawaz Sattar, a Glasgow-based businessman, has been implicated in significant financial misconduct, particularly involving VAT fraud and money laundering activities.

Key Allegations and Legal Actions:

  • VAT Fraud and Money Laundering:
    • In 2003, Sattar was ordered to repay £400,000 in connection with a substantial VAT fraud scheme. This operation involved his company, Q-Tech, which engaged in “carousel fraud.” This fraudulent practice entailed claiming VAT refunds on non-existent goods purportedly traded across European borders.
  • Association with Criminal Networks:
    • Investigations revealed that Sattar’s company, Q-Tech, was involved in laundering money through complex financial networks. These networks included entities in Scotland, the British Virgin Islands, and Delaware, USA. Notably, Sattar collaborated with Achilleas Kallakis, a known figure in Scotland’s carousel fraud scene, to transfer illicit funds overseas, thereby evading law enforcement scrutiny.
  • Proceeds of Crime Recovery:
    • In a 2011 proceeds of crime case, Sattar and his now-defunct firm, Q-Tech, agreed to surrender £1.3 million identified as proceeds from criminal activities.

Additional Business Ventures:

  • Directorships:

Mohammed Nawaz Sattar has been a central figure in financial fraud operations, particularly VAT-related schemes, resulting in significant legal repercussions and financial penalties. His involvement in complex money laundering activities underscores the challenges authorities face in combating sophisticated financial crimes.

 

Mohammed Nawaz Sattar Fake DMCA

 

 

 

Analyzing the Fake Copyright Notice(s)

Our team collects and analyses fraudulent copyright takedown requests, legal complaints, and other efforts to remove critical information from the internet. Through our investigative reporting, we examine the prevalence and operation of an organized censorship industry, predominantly funded by criminal entities, oligarchs, and disreputable businesses or individuals. Our findings allow internet users to gain insight into these censorship schemes’ sources, methods, and underlying objectives.

 

 

 

What was Mohammed Nawaz Sattar trying to hide?

Mohammed Nawaz Sattar‘s attempts to hide unfavourable content through the misuse of copyright notices while allegedly engaging in perjury present serious legal concerns. These actions suggest a calculated attempt to manipulate legal systems to suppress free speech, a fundamental violation of copyright law principles and an abuse of legal processes. The use of such tactics not only undermines the integrity of copyright protection but also potentially constitutes perjury, further entangling Mohammed Nawaz Sattar in legal accountability. Let’s examine the information Mohammed Nawaz Sattar may be trying to remove from the internet –

Investigative Report on Mohammed Nawaz Sattar: Financial Fraud, Legal Sanctions, and Allegations

Introduction

Mohammed Nawaz Sattar, a Glasgow-based businessman, has been implicated in several high-profile financial crimes, including VAT fraud and money laundering. Known for his involvement in fraudulent schemes through his company Q-Tech Distribution Ltd., Sattar’s activities have left a trail of legal challenges, financial penalties, and allegations of association with criminal networks. This investigative report delves into the details of Sattar’s alleged misconduct, the legal consequences he faced, and the broader implications for financial crime enforcement.


1. Background on Mohammed Nawaz Sattar

Mohammed Nawaz Sattar operated out of Glasgow, Scotland, and managed several businesses, including Q-Tech Distribution Ltd. His entrepreneurial ventures, however, became mired in controversy due to their links to significant financial misconduct.

  • Companies Involved:
    • Q-Tech Distribution Ltd. emerged as a central entity in Sattar’s operations, particularly in fraudulent VAT claims.
    • Additional roles included directorships in companies such as G1 Media Ltd and SAB381 Ltd, which were also under scrutiny for financial irregularities.

2. The VAT Fraud Scheme

2.1. Carousel Fraud Operation

Sattar’s company, Q-Tech, was implicated in a carousel fraud scheme—a complex form of VAT fraud involving fictitious trades of goods across European Union (EU) borders.

  • How the Scheme Worked:
    • Goods, often high-value items such as electronics, were ostensibly traded between companies in different EU countries.
    • VAT was charged and reclaimed on these fictitious trades, allowing Sattar’s operation to generate millions in fraudulent refunds.
    • In many cases, the goods either did not exist or were traded multiple times within the same network of shell companies.
  • Financial Impact:
    • Between 2001 and 2004, Sattar’s activities through Q-Tech were estimated to have defrauded the UK government of approximately £30 million in VAT refunds.
2.2. Legal Actions and Recovery Efforts

In 2003, Sattar was ordered to repay £400,000 linked to VAT fraud activities, marking one of the initial legal actions against him.

  • Proceeds of Crime Case (2011):
    • Following further investigations, Sattar and Q-Tech were compelled to surrender £1.3 million identified as proceeds from criminal activities.

3. Money Laundering Allegations

3.1. Global Financial Networks

Sattar’s fraudulent gains were laundered through intricate networks spanning multiple jurisdictions, including:

  • Scotland and the UK:
    • Shell companies and front businesses were used to mask the origin of funds.
  • British Virgin Islands and Delaware (USA):
    • Offshore accounts and entities in these jurisdictions were instrumental in transferring illicit funds away from the reach of UK authorities.
3.2. Collaboration with Known Criminal Figures

Sattar was found to have worked with Achilleas Kallakis, a prominent figure in Scotland’s carousel fraud scene. Together, they facilitated the movement of illicit funds to evade detection.

  • Techniques Used:
    • Use of fake invoices and documentation to justify fund transfers.
    • Layering transactions through multiple accounts to obscure the audit trail.

4. Association with Q-Tech Distribution Ltd.

4.1. Role of Q-Tech in the Fraud

Q-Tech served as a central hub for Sattar’s fraudulent operations:

  • It was the primary entity through which false VAT refund claims were processed.
  • Its operations were eventually linked to a broader network of businesses involved in similar fraudulent practices.
4.2. Dissolution of the Company

Following legal scrutiny, Q-Tech was dissolved, but its activities left a lasting impact on UK revenue authorities, prompting stricter measures against VAT fraud.


5. Legal and Financial Repercussions

5.1. Criminal Penalties

Sattar faced multiple legal actions over the years, resulting in significant financial penalties:

  • Initial Recovery Order (2003):
    • Ordered to repay £400,000 linked to VAT fraud.
  • Proceeds of Crime Agreement (2011):
    • Surrendered £1.3 million in identified criminal proceeds.
5.2. Broader Implications

While Sattar avoided lengthy imprisonment, his operations highlighted the gaps in enforcement mechanisms against financial fraud, particularly in cases involving offshore networks.


6. Public and Regulatory Reactions

6.1. Government Response

The UK government intensified efforts to combat VAT fraud following high-profile cases like Sattar’s:

  • Strengthened regulations to detect and prevent carousel fraud.
  • Increased scrutiny of cross-border transactions and shell companies.
6.2. Media and Public Perception

The media widely reported on Sattar’s schemes, portraying him as a symbol of the sophisticated financial crimes that undermine public resources.


7. Broader Implications for Financial Crime Enforcement

7.1. Challenges in Tackling Carousel Fraud

Sattar’s case underscores the complexity of combating VAT fraud:

  • International Scope:
    • The involvement of multiple jurisdictions makes enforcement challenging.
  • Sophistication of Networks:
    • Fraudsters leverage technology and offshore banking to evade detection.
7.2. Lessons for Authorities
  • Stronger International Cooperation:
    • Enhanced collaboration between tax authorities and law enforcement agencies is critical.
  • Improved Monitoring Systems:
    • Automated tracking of VAT claims can help identify anomalies early.

8. Conclusion

Mohammed Nawaz Sattar’s involvement in VAT fraud and money laundering represents one of the most significant financial crime cases in Scotland. His activities not only defrauded the UK government of millions but also exposed the vulnerabilities in existing enforcement mechanisms. While legal actions resulted in financial penalties and the dissolution of Q-Tech Distribution Ltd., the case serves as a stark reminder of the need for vigilance and robust oversight in combating sophisticated financial fraud.

Sattar’s operations and their broader implications highlight the challenges governments face in addressing transnational financial crime, emphasizing the importance of international cooperation, regulatory reform, and technological innovation in safeguarding public resources.

 

 

 

How do we counteract this malpractice?

Once we ascertain the involvement of Mohammed Nawaz Sattar (or actors working on behalf of Mohammed Nawaz Sattar), we will inform Mohammed Nawaz Sattar of our findings via Electronic Mail.

Our preliminary assessment suggests that Mohammed Nawaz Sattar may have engaged a third-party reputation management agency or expert, which, either independently or under direct authorization from Mohammed Nawaz Sattar, initiated efforts to remove adverse online content, including potentially fraudulent DMCA takedown requests. We will extend an opportunity to Mohammed Nawaz Sattar to provide details regarding their communications with the agency or expert, as well as the identification of the individual(s) responsible for executing these false DMCA notices.

Failure to respond in a timely manner will necessitate a reassessment of our initial assumptions. In such an event, we will be compelled to take appropriate legal action to rectify the unlawful conduct and take the following steps –

 

 

Since Mohammed Nawaz Sattar made such efforts to hide something online, it seems fit to ensure that this article and sensitive information targeted online by these events get a lot more exposure and traffic than what it would have received originally

We hope this becomes an excellent case study for the Streisand effect…The key idea behind the Streisand effect is that efforts to restrict information can backfire, often causing the information to gain more attention than it would have otherwise. This effect is widespread in the digital age, where users quickly notice and spread censorship efforts on social media and other platforms. Trying to suppress something can unintentionally lead to it becoming more visible, which Mohammed Nawaz Sattar is finding out the hard way.

Potential Consequences for Mohammed Nawaz Sattar

Under Florida Statute 831.01, the crime of Forgery is committed when a person falsifies, alters, counterfeits, or forges a document that carries “legal efficacy” with the intent to injure or defraud another person or entity.

Forging a document is considered a white-collar crime. It involves altering, changing, or modifying a document to deceive another person. It can also include passing along copies of documents that are known to be false. In many states in the US, falsifying a document is a crime punishable as a felony.

 

 

Additionally, under most laws, “fraud on the court” is where “a party has sentiently set in motion some unconscionable scheme calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability impartially to adjudicate a matter by improperly influencing the trier of fact or unfairly hampering the presentation of the opposing party’s claim or defense.”  Cox v. Burke, 706 So. 2d 43, 46 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (quoting Aoude v. Mobil Oil Corp., 892 F.2d 1115, 1118 (1st Cir. 1989)).

Is Mohammed Nawaz Sattar Committing a Cyber Crime?

Faced with these limitations, some companies like Mohammed Nawaz Sattar have gone to extreme lengths to fraudulently claim copyright ownership over a negative review in the hopes of taking it down.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. Mohammed Nawaz Sattar is certainly keeping interesting company here….

CompanyNames Fake DMCA

The DMCA takedown process requires that copyright owners submit a takedown notice to an ISP identifying the allegedly infringing content and declaring, under penalty of perjury, that they have a good faith belief that the content is infringing. The ISP must then promptly remove or disable access to the content. The alleged infringer can then submit a counter-notice, and if the copyright owner does not take legal action within 10 to 14 days, the ISP can restore the content.

Since these platforms are predominantly based in the U.S., the complaints are typically made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which requires online service providers and platforms to react immediately to reports or violations. Big Tech companies rarely have systems in place to assess the merit of each report. Instead, all bad actors need to do is clone a story, backdate it, and then demand the real thing be taken down.

 

Reputation Agency's Modus Operandi

The fake DMCA notices we found always use the “back-dated article” technique. With this technique, the wrongful notice sender (or copier) creates a copy of a “true original” article and back-dates it, creating a “fake original” article (a copy of the true original) that, at first glance, appears to have been published before the true original.

Then, based on the claim that this backdated article is the “original,” the scammers send a DMCA to the relevant online service providers (e.g. Google), alleging that the ‘true’ original is the copied or “infringing” article and that the copied article is the “original,” requesting the takedown of the ‘true’ original article. After sending the DMCA request, the person who sent the wrong notice takes down the fake original URL, likely to make sure that the article doesn’t stay online in any way. If the takedown notice is successful, the disappearance from the internet of information is most likely to be legitimate speech.

As an integral part of this scheme, the ‘reputation management’ company hired by Mohammed Nawaz Sattar creates a website that purports to be a ‘news’ site. This site is designed to look legitimate at a glance, but any degree of scrutiny reveals it as the charade it is.

The company copies the ‘negative’ content and posts it “on the fake ‘news’ site, attributing it to a separate author,” then gives it “a false publication date on the ‘news’ website that predated the original publication.

The reputation company then sent Google a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice claiming the original website infringed copyright. After a cursory examination of the fake news site, Google frequently accepts the notice and delists the content.

 

 

In committing numerous offences, Mohammed Nawaz Sattar either premeditated actions or were unaware of the consequences. Despite hiring an agency to make Google disregard any negative information about Mohammed Nawaz Sattar, ignorance does not excuse this wrongdoing.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. FSMSmart is certainly keeping interesting company here.

 

The Reputation Laundering

Rogue Reputation agencies use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking clients to allegations of tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking. Most of these reputation agencies are based offshore, mainly in Russia, India, and Eastern Europe, and they do not worry about complying with US-based laws.

The content in all of the articles for which the fraudulent DMCA notices have been sent relates to allegations of criminal allegations, including corruption, child abuse, sexual harassment, human trafficking and financial fraud against businesses and individuals with ultra-high net worth.

 

 

In addition to the misuse of the DMCA takedown process, there is a notable absence of enforcement concerning perjury violations. The statutory requirement related to perjury is designed to deter copyright holders from submitting fraudulent or knowingly false takedown requests, as they may face legal consequences for making false declarations under penalty of perjury. However, to date, there have been no known instances of any individual being prosecuted for perjury in connection with the submission of false DMCA takedown notices.

This lack of enforcement has emboldened copyright holders to exploit the DMCA takedown process to suppress dissent, criticism, or other unfavorable content, without fear of legal repercussions.

Some of the people and businesses who have employed this tactic to remove legitimate content from Google illegally include a Spanish businessman-turned-cocaine-trafficker, Organised crime, an Israeli-Argentine banker accused of laundering money for Hugo Chávez’s regime, a French “responsible” mining company accused of tax evasion, child molesters and sexual predators. Mohammed Nawaz Sattar is in great company ….

What else is Mohammed Nawaz Sattar hiding?

We encourage you to ‘Dork‘ Google by searching for keyword combinations such as [Mohammed Nawaz Sattar] + {Negative Keyword, such as Scam, Fraud, Complaints, Lawsuit, Sanction, etc} on Google. It’s likely if you scroll down to the bottom of this Google search results, you’ll stumble upon this Legal Takedown notice (pictured below)

 

 

To make such an investigation possible, we encourage more online service providers to come forward and share copies of content removal requests with industry experts and researchers. If you have any information on Mohammed Nawaz Sattar that you want to share with experts and journalists, kindly email the author directly at [email protected].

All communications are strictly confidential and safeguarded under a comprehensive Whistleblower Policy, ensuring full protection and anonymity for individuals who provide information.

Authorities we may contact and share this report with for further actions

GOOGLE LEGAL HEAD

Halimah DeLaine Prado

NEWS DESK

Washington Post & NY Times

The above decision-makers and authorities will be provided a comprehensive dossier of our findings, including anonymously submitted evidence and tips. We invite journalists to contact us to receive a copy of our complete investigation here

Credits and Acknowledgement

16/10/2024

Many thanks to FakeDMCA.com and Lumen for providing access to their database.

Photos and Illustrations provided by DALL-E 3 – “a representation of Mohammed Nawaz Sattar censoring the internet and committing cyber crimes.”

  • We’ve reached out to Mohammed Nawaz Sattar for a comment or rebuttal regarding this investigation. It will strongly suggest they were behind the takedown attempt if they remain silent.

    • Our investigative report on Mohammed Nawaz Sattar‘s efforts to suppress online speech is significant, as it raises serious concerns about its integrity. The findings suggest that Mohammed Nawaz Sattar has engaged in questionable practices, including potential perjury, impersonation, and fraud, in a misguided attempt to manage or salvage its reputation.

    • We intend to file a counternotice to reinstate the removed article(s). While this particular instance is relatively straightforward, it is important to note that, in other cases, the overwhelming volume of automated DMCA takedown notices can significantly hinder the ability of affected parties to respond—especially for those not large media organizations.

    • You need an account with fakeDMCA.com and Lumen to access the research data. However, accounts are not widely available since these non-profit organisations manage large databases that could be susceptible to misuse. Nevertheless, they do offer access to non-profits and researchers.

    • It’s unclear why U.S. authorities have yet to act against these rogue reputation agencies, whose business model seems rooted in fraudulent practices.

  • We’ve reached out to Mohammed Nawaz Sattar for a comment or rebuttal regarding this investigation. It will strongly suggest they were behind the takedown attempt if they remain silent.

About the Author

16/10/2024

The author is affiliated with Harvard University and serves as a researcher at both Lumen and FakeDMCA.com. In his personal capacity, he and his team have been actively investigating and reporting on organized crime related to fraudulent copyright takedown schemes. Additionally, his team provides advisory services to major law firms and is frequently consulted on matters pertaining to intellectual property law. He can be reached at [email protected] directly.

USER FEEDBACK ON Mohammed Nawaz Sattar

1.7/5

Based on 2 ratings

Trust
20%
Risk
60%
Brand
20%
by: Logan Howard
December 12, 2024 at 7:14 am

It’s wild to think Sattar was still trying to run legitimate-sounding ventures while funneling money through offshore networks. You don’t just 'accidentally' get caught up in fraud unless you’re neck, deep in shady dealings. No surprise he had to cough...

by: Charlotte Bailey
December 12, 2024 at 6:52 am

Carousel fraud, money laundering, and overseas networks? Nawaz Sattar was running a criminal masterclass, not a business.

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