Millionaire landlady made to sell property to pay victim who she forced to cook and clean for her for 16 years

A landlady who was jailed for keeping a vulnerable woman in domestic servitude for 16 years has had to sell a property to pay the victim back nearly £200,000.

Farzana Kausar forced the woman to work unpaid in her home in Worthing, West Sussex – making her cook, clean and look after her children.

She also subjected her to physical, psychological and financial abuse and took full control of her passport and finances.

Kausar would also withdraw money from bank accounts which she had opened in the victim’s name.

She also made benefit claims on the woman’s behalf before keeping the money for herself.

The abuse started after the woman rented a room from Kausar’s mother who later died.

Kausar then kept the victim in domestic servitude for 16 years before she was arrested by Sussex Police on suspicion of Modern Slavery offences in May 2019.

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She then set out to pervert the course of justice by forcing the victim to write a letter to the police asking for the charges to be withdrawn.

Kausar was jailed for six years and eight months in December 2022 after she was found guilty of one count of holding a person in slavery or servitude and one count of perverting the course of justice.

The landlady was 58 at the time she was jailed while her victim was 62.

The Crown Prosecution Service took Kausar to court following her sentence so a confiscation order could be issued against her under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The act forces criminals to hand over available money and assets up to the total amount they benefited from through their crimes.

On 13 October 2023, Kausar was ordered to pay back a total of more than £205,000 or face an additional 30-month prison sentence.

A Slavery Trafficking Reparation Order imposed by a court means that £198,776 of the confiscation order will go to the victim.

Kausar had to sell a property to cover the amount which she has now paid in full.

The money paid to the victim includes benefits Kausar took from her, along with unpaid wages owed to her from her time in servitude.

Adrian Foster, head of the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division, said: “Millionaire Farzana Kausar subjected a vulnerable woman to a campaign of abuse and took complete control over her life, stripping her of her freedom over 16 years and exploiting her for her own profit.

“We robustly pursued Kausar for her criminal benefit, and I hope these reparations can go some way to compensate the victim.

“This case shows that even when criminals are convicted and sentenced, the CPS will continue to pursue them for the money they owe.

“By going after the proceeds of crime, we can deprive criminals of their ill-gotten gains and take the profit out of offending.”

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