A landlady who was jailed for keeping a vulnerable woman in domestic servitude has had to sell a property to pay the victim back almost £200,000.
Farzana Kausar, formerly of Worthing, was jailed for six years and eight months on 21 December 2022 at Lewes Crown Court after she was found guilty of one count of holding a person in slavery or servitude and one count of perverting the course of justice.
Following her sentence, the CPS took Kauser back to court so a Confiscation Order could be issued against her under the Proceeds of Crime Act. This forces criminals to handover available money and assets up to their total criminal benefit or face the possibility of spending more years in prison for non-payment.
On 13 October 2023, Kauser was ordered to pay back a total of more than £205,000 or face an additional 30-month prison sentence. This confiscation order has now been paid in full.
The court imposed a Slavery and Trafficking Reparation Order which means that £198,776 of the confiscation order will go to the victim. This amount includes benefits Kauser took from her, along with unpaid wages owed to her from her time in servitude.
Adrian Foster, Head of the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division, said:
“Millionaire Farzana Kausar subjected a vulnerable woman to a campaign of abuse and took complete control over her life, stripping her of her freedom over 16 years and exploiting her for her own profit.
“We robustly pursued Kausar for her criminal benefit, and I hope these reparations can go some way to compensate the victim.
“This case shows that even when criminals are convicted and sentenced, the CPS will continue to pursue them for the money they owe.
“By going after the proceeds of crime, we can deprive criminals of their ill-gotten gains and take the profit out of offending.”
Over a 16-year period, Kausar, formerly of Worthing subjected the victim to physical, psychological, and financial abuse. The victim was made to work as an unpaid domestic servant in Kausar's home, cooking, cleaning and looking after her children.
Kausar took full control of the victim's passport and finances and would withdraw money from bank accounts she had opened in the victim's name. She also made benefit claims on the victim's behalf, which she kept for herself.
In May 2019, Kausar was arrested by Sussex Police on suspicion of Modern Slavery offences and released on conditional bail.
Kausar then set out to pervert the course of justice by trying to get the victim to drop the charges. In an attempt to cover up her crimes, Kausar forced the victim to write a letter to the police asking for the charges to be withdrawn.
In the last five years, 2019 to 2024, nearly £450 million has been recovered from CPS obtained Confiscation Orders, ensuring that thousands of convicted criminals cannot profit from their offending. £88m of that amount has been returned to victims of crime, by way of compensation.
Notes to Editors
- Adrian Foster is the Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Proceeds of Crime Division, which is part of the CPS Serious Economic Organised and International Directorate (SEOCID).
- Where a defendant refuses to pay their Confiscation Order in a timely way, CPS Proceeds of Crime Division can invite the court to impose an additional default sentence on them of up to 14 years' imprisonment. The full debt continues to be in force until it is paid, and interest is charged against it at the civil judgement debt rate, currently 8%.
- Section 8 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 allows a Slavery and Trafficking Reparation Order to be made against defendants convicted of sections 1, 2 or 4 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 where a Confiscation Order has been made. Such an order requires the defendant to pay compensation to the victim for any harm resulting from the offence.