A convicted fraudster who used dirty money to buy a flat in Kilburn has lost his fight to keep the property.

Sean Martin Doherty was refused permission to appeal against a High Court Order to hand over his £460,000 home to the National Crime Agency (NCA), on October 12.

The 59-year-old was serving a prison sentence for benefit fraud offences and had not declared any income at the time when the property was purchased on Princess Road in the borough of Brent .

The court was told he had obtained the flat for £55,000 in 1998 with a fraudulent mortgage.

He used a false identity, supported by a fake reference and declarations of income, and paid the 5% deposit using proceeds of crime.

Despite this, he challenged the legality of the NCA's application.

An outstanding mortgage of £30,000 is left on the property which is now worth at least eight times the sum it was bought for.

Justice Elisabeth Laing said the entire property had been obtained through crime.

Stephanie Jeavons, deputy director for the NCA’s Economic Crime Command, said: “Civil Recovery is a really effective way of denying criminals the benefit of their crimes, and that includes investments.

“The Proceeds of Crime Act allows the NCA to recover not just the original purchase price of the property but also the increase in the value of the property over the intervening years.

"In this case the property’s value has risen by more than 700% since being bought in 1998.”

Doherty's most recent conviction was in July 2014 when he was sentenced to eight months in jail in relation to his attempt to open a bank account using an alias supported by a fraudulent Irish Passport. It was this same alias which Doherty used when he fraudulently obtained the mortgage to acquire the flat in Kilburn.

He was convicted of six dishonesty offences at Harrow Crown Court in 1997.

Doherty also faces £17,000 in legal costs to be paid to the NCA from the first hearing.