Woman faked her own death in £2 million insurance con

A London off-licence owner faked her own death in Pakistan in an attempt to claim more than £2 million from life insurance policies, a court heard.

Rozeena Butt, 39, claimed she had succumbed to "dehydration" in a remote rural hospital, the jury was told.

Together with her husband Mohammed, 45, and her niece Nosheen Chughtai, 32, Butt produced a series of forged documents — including a death certificate from the British High Commission in Islamabad — to back up the story.

Chughtai then contacted three high street insurance firms claiming to be a bereaved relative and demanding a series of huge payouts, it was said.

The proceeds of the policies were to be held in trust for Mohammed Butt, while Chughtai was to act as a trustee. But suspicions were raised after it emerged Rozeena Butt had only taken out the policies a few months before her apparent death in 2007, and the insurance companies investigated the claims.

Rozeena Butt, of Hornchurch, Essex, admitted three counts of conspiracy to defraud at Southwark crown court. Mohammed Butt, of the same address, and Chughtai, of Tooting, deny the same charges. The trial continues.