Umran Rafiq Admitted 21 Counts of Trademarks and Hallmarking Offences
A jeweller from Birmingham has been fined tens of thousands of pounds after admitting to hallmarking offences at Birmingham Crown Court.
Umran Rafiq, who pleaded guilty to 21 counts of trademarks offences and hallmarking offences, avoided an immediate prison sentence and was ordered to pay the £60,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act and £10,763 in legal costs.
Umran was given a six month suspended sentence for 10 weeks and and was told to complete 60 hours of unpaid work.
Birmingham City Council brought the case against the jeweller, who traded at Asian Jewellers in Alum Rock Road, after a seizure of 22 items of jewellery by Trading Standards during an inspection in January 2012.
Eight rings of the 22 pieces of jewellery seized had trade marks for BMW, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Nike and Playboy, which Rafiq had used without permission, whilst 14 of the items were not hallmarked.
Chair of Birmingham City Council’s Licensing and Public Protection Committee, Councillor Barbara Dring, said: “People should be able to have confidence when they are buying valuable goods, like gold jewellery, that they are of the quality they purport to be.
“A number of the rings seized by our officers also broke regulations on the use of Trade Marks, which consumers may not be aware of.
“But this is why it’s important for Trading Standards to take action and bring cases like this to the public’s attention.
“Global brands that have been built up over decades of hard work do not deserve to be damaged as a result of their logos being used on inferior or unlicensed products.”
