Shahid Malik, a former Labour MP who served as justice minister under Gordon Brown’s government, has been found not guilty of fraudulent trading, causing a public nuisance, and money laundering in connection with RT Diagnostics, a testing company prosecutors characterized as operating improperly during the pandemic response.
Malik, 58, who represented Dewsbury from 2005 to 2010, was one of five individuals charged in relation to the company. The trial at Bradford crown court took an unusual path after a jury tampering allegation led to the discharge of jurors in April. Judge Smith subsequently continued the proceedings without a jury and rendered verdicts independently. The trial had commenced in October the previous year, with jury deliberations beginning in March.
The prosecution alleged that RT Diagnostics, established in March 2021 as the third national lockdown was concluding, was designed to exploit the government’s expansion of its test-and-trace system. The company generated £6.67 million in revenue over three weeks while operating from inadequate facilities in Halifax. According to court testimony, the premises contained structural defects and the workforce consisted largely of untrained young workers operating without proper safety protocols or protective equipment. The company allegedly produced a suspiciously low number of positive test results.
Malik’s defence team argued his involvement was limited to initial financing and making business introductions. The court heard evidence that Malik spent most of the company’s operational period outside the country and had never visited the premises while it was functioning. Co-founder Faisal Shoukat, a 39-year-old former Labour councillor and pharmacist, was convicted on all three charges. Paul Moore, 57, who held a senior company role and had previously worked as Malik’s office manager, was acquitted of causing a public nuisance and fraudulent trading. Lynn Connell, 64, and Alexander Zarneh, 70, were similarly cleared of these two offences.
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