London man jailed for £2.7m fake vinyl records scam involving theft of 108 musicians’ IP
Author
Martin Croft
PR & Marketing Manager
Photo by Eric Krull on Unsplash
A raid led by the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU), the specialist IP arm of the City of London Police, uncovered a fully operational illegal vinyl record manufacturing plant operating on an industrial scale, including four vinyl presses, each approximately 70 years old, 3,000 metal stampers, and thousands of sleeves and centre labels, totalling 18 tonnes of evidence.
The raid, based on information provided by investigators from the music industry trade body, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), has just resulted in the sentencing of the ring leader, Rehan Ahmed from West London, to 3 years and 6 months in prison.
The Inner London Crown Court heard evidence that the fake vinyl plant was responsible for distributing thousands of counterfeit vinyl records across the UK between 2017 and 2024, with Ahmed making £2.7 million from counterfeit vinyl. It was the largest seizure of its kind in the UK.
The records were being produced and distributed from a unit in Acton under the name ‘Phoenix of Vinyl’. Warrants executed in February 2024 resulted in the seizure of 2,791 vinyl records, along with stampers and lacquer used in their manufacture.
Record labels examined the seized items and confirmed that all titles infringed their copyright. In total, 108 artists’ copyright were used.
Evidence indicated a long‑running, highly organised and entirely unlicensed manufacturing operation capable of producing counterfeit recordings at a scale rarely seen in the modern music industry.
“Rehan Ahmed exploited artists and the wider music industry, taking advantage of the resurgence in vinyl records for his own gain. We will continue to pursue criminals who target the creative industries and bring them to justice.”
Peter Ratcliffe, BPI Director of Content Protection, observed:
"This conviction is hugely significant, and we thank our partners in this investigation, PIPCU and our label members, for their valued efforts over many months to bring about this welcome outcome. With music on physical formats enjoying a resurgence, the market in counterfeit records has unfortunately also been growing as criminals cash in at the expense of creators and fans.”
The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) is a specialist police team dedicated to protecting physical goods from intellectual property crime and combatting online piracy. Established in 2013 with funding from the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), its mission is to investigate, disrupt, and prevent intellectual property crime that causes significant harm to the UK economy and the public.
Since its inception, the unit has investigated intellectual property crime worth more than £100 million concerning counterfeit goods or digital piracy, and suspended more than 30,000 websites selling counterfeit goods. These websites have also been linked to identity theft.
