On 12 December 2023, Ahsin Akhtar, director of Acre & Tweed Group Ltd, appeared before Barkingside Magistrates' Court and pleaded guilty to failing to provide information to the Security Industry Authority (SIA).
He was fined £666 with a victim surcharge of £266 and court costs of £2932.50, amounting to a total of £3,864.50.
The case was brought by the Security Industry Authority (SIA), after it investigated the use of a cloned licence by a security operative at various locations across the South East of England.
The security operative using a cloned licence was allegedly supplied by Ahsin Akhtar's security company. A letter of request for information was sent to Ahsin Akhtar on 12 December 2022. Mr Akhtar failed to respond to repeated requests for information and was subsequently invited for an interview under caution by the SIA investigators.
Ahsin Akhtar attended two interviews under caution on 16 May 2023 and 14 June 2023. During the interviews he acknowledged his failure to provide the information requested. However, he did not provide the required information to the SIA at the interviews and the information he did share was found to be contradictory.
He pleaded guilty to section 19 of the Private Security Industry Act pertaining to obstructing SIA officials or those with delegated authority or failing to respond to a request for information. He was sentenced at the first hearing.
During the sentencing the bench commented:
Mr Akhtar, it is a serious matter when you fail to provide information to resolve an investigation when requested to do so. You have been given extensions allowing you the opportunity to provide this information however, you still never met the request to provide this information.
Nicola Bolton, one of the SIA's criminal investigations managers, said:
Ahsin Akhtar pleaded guilty to withholding information from the SIA. This is a serious matter as failing to provide information to the SIA can obstruct the course of a criminal investigation and hence put the safety of public at risk.
Responding to a request for information by the SIA is a legal requirement. The SIA's licensing regime exists to protect the public. Offenders like Akhtar need to be aware of the consequences of their illegal actions. Ashin Akhtar now has a criminal record.
Notes:
- By law, security operatives working under contract must hold and display a valid SIA licence
- Read about SIA enforcement and penalties
- The offence relating to the Private Security Industry Act 2001 that is mentioned above is as follows:
- Section 19 - obstructing SIA officials or those with delegated authority, or failing to respond to a request for information
