Osman Iqbal, 37, who has been labelled a ‘gangster’, was jailed in September for seven years for running a brothel.
The Birmingham-based officer admitted three misconduct offences when he was in court on Wednesday. Chief Inspector Martin Brennan said Iqbal's "greed had been his downfall".
Colleagues reportedly became suspicious after the policeman drove the Ferrari to Kings Heath police station after which, West Midlands Police's counter-corruption unit began investigating. Due to lifting of restrictions the story can now be reported on.
It was revealed Iqbal was money laundering “hundreds of thousands of pounds”, from brothels in London’s Covent Garden and Marylebone areas, through bank accounts set-up for two non-existent businesses.
West Midland’s Police tweeted: “Osman Iqbal admitted trying to access police systems without permission while a serving officer.”
Iqbal was asked by Nahiem Ajmal, a Birmingham religious leader, to obtain information on behalf of Sajad Khan, West Midlands Police said. Both Ajmal and Khan were convicted of the same offence as Iqbal.
He was jailed in September after admitting ‘conspiracy to run a brothel, conspiracy to launder money and possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply’.
Talib Hussain, 33, Atif Hussain, 27, and Asri Hussain, 25, were also jailed as part of that investigation, added @WMPolice.
Ch Insp Brennan, from the serious and organised crime unit, said: "Their greed was their downfall and when they were seen driving around in their supercars it didn't take us long to piece together exactly what they were up to and take action."
Insp Tracey McGrath said: "Occasionally there are people who disgracefully betray the public and even their own colleagues by exploiting their status for their own gain.
"Let me reassure people that my counter-corruption team are on to people like Iqbal and there's nowhere for them to hide.
"In this case we'll be looking to seize all the assets Iqbal acquired as a result of his criminal activity and his police pension too."
Ajmal, 35, from Bucklands Lane in Hodge Hill, and Khan, also 35, from Lodge Road in Hockley, are due to be sentenced along with Iqbal for misconduct in public office on 9 February.