Two men jailed for roles in £2.2m money laundering scheme
The operation involved laundering significant sums through Post Office branches in Bristol and Gloucestershire
Last updated 14th Aug 2026
Two Gloucester men have been sentenced at Bristol Crown Court for their involvement in a £2.2 million money laundering scheme.
Patrick White and Thomas Dainty, both 31, pleaded guilty to laundering over £300,000 through Post Office branches in Gloucestershire and Bristol as part of an eight-member organised crime group.
Additionally, they confessed to drug-related offences, with White admitting to the supply of class A cocaine, and Dainty admitting to both class A cocaine and class B cannabis supply.
White received a sentence of three years and eight months in prison, while Dainty was sentenced to two years and nine months.
The operation was orchestrated by Guiseppe Sangiovanni, 35, from Cheltenham, who was jailed for six years and eight months earlier this year for recruiting the group to launder cash, which was then converted into cryptocurrency.
Investigators discovered cash totalling £30,000 in his flat along with luxury items including Rolex watches and a Porsche.
Another member, Sara Buffin, 43, from Quedgeley, played a significant role by laundering over £1 million. She received a three-year prison sentence in February.
The crime group completed 1,168 transactions over four months, individually laundering amounts between £93,000 and £1 million.
All eight participants were arrested by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit in collaboration with Gloucestershire Constabulary in February 2022.
Peter Highway, leading the SWROCU investigation, highlighted the extensive work that led to uncovering the group's activities:
“Our investigation started following an alert about suspicious cash deposits into bank accounts using 28 Post Office branches and two bank paying-in machines in our region.
"Through painstaking analysis of hundreds of transactions and work to obtain information from numerous countries, we were able to evidence the extent of Sangiovanni’s operation and the involvement of those he recruited.
"Ultimately, Sangiovanni was making money by laundering – and getting others to launder – criminals’ cash for them, which is likely to have derived from crimes committed in the Cheltenham and Gloucestershire areas.
"While criminals will always need to seek ways to launder their dirty money, this case shows the ability we have, working with the financial services industry, to target those who are enabling that to happen. By laundering money for other criminals, they are complicit and we can and will bring them to justice for that.
"We are now working to secure confiscation orders for the cash and assets seized from Sangiovanni, Buffin, and others.”
Four additional Gloucestershire men received suspended sentences in February 2026.