Jogesh Bhandari, 59, from Loughborough, was handed an eight‑year jail term at Leicester Crown Court on Oct 16 after missing two earlier hearings, a lapse that the judge cited as a health issue. The trial, lasting five weeks, found him guilty of fraud and money laundering after investigators traced how he used a shell company to win contracts for 12 million gloves and then diverted the payments.
In November 2020, Bhandari secured a deal for 12 million boxes of nitrile gloves, but the €1.8 million deposited into an escrow account was transferred to him and a U.S. associate, Frank Labruzzo, instead of the suppliers. A month later he pocketed another €2.7 million, using €500 k to settle personal debts, and in early 2021 he siphoned €3.18 million meant for U.S. hospitals, never delivering the goods.
The money found its way into luxury purchases: a £126,000 Porsche, a £200,000 deposit for a Rolex, an Audi A5, a Land Rover Discovery and a Volkswagen Golf, as well as home renovations and overseas holidays. Paul Boniface, operations manager at the National Crime Agency, said the scheme left real‑life healthcare workers waiting for essential PPE while the defendants smiled over new cars.
Meena Bhandari and Craig Morris, 43, were also sentenced on Oct 7: Meena received a two‑year suspended sentence with 250 hours of community work, while Morris was jailed for three years and nine months. The trio’s 47,000‑message thread revealed how they coordinated the fraud, with Bhandari asking Morris to pose as a satisfied customer to legitimize the scam.
Bhandari will be transferred to HM Prison for the duration of his sentence, and the National Crime Agency is seeking restitution for the losses incurred by the NHS and private suppliers. The case is prompting a review of UK government procurement procedures to guard against similar fraud in future crises.