A BRADFORD doctor serving a nine year jail sentence for a £3.5 million money laundering plot refused to leave his prison cell to attend a confiscation hearing at Bradford Crown Court yesterday.

Zakir Ahmed's wife, Manjula Salian, who was locked up for three years for her part in the crime, was the only one of the three co-defendants present for the Proceeds of Crime Application case.

The court heard that Mohammed Ibrar, also jailed for three years, was too ill to attend.

Judge David Hatton made a confiscation order against him and adjourned the other two cases until October 9.

He ruled that Ibrar's benefit from the scam was £95,353 and his available assets were £150.

The married couple, both doctors who qualified in India, were living in Nab Wood Drive, Shipley, before Ahmed (pictured) absconded to Estonia. He was arrested and extradited back to the UK.

All three defendants were convicted by a jury last year of converting criminal property, between January 1, 2010, and April 2, 2011.

Jonathan Sandiford, prosecuting, said Ahmed, 47, was linked to £3.5 million of illegal money.

Salian, 49, was connected to £1.4 million of criminal money and Ibrar, 37, of Healey Lane, Batley, to about £150,000.

The plot involved setting up a series of fake companies to launder criminal money and transfer it to a number of countries, including China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai and India.

Ahmed was employed as a trainee doctor at St Luke's Hospital, Bradford, and did sub-contracted work.