Over a dozen UK firms probed in money laundering scandal worth $20BILLION

Over a dozen 'front companies' in the UK are now under investigation amid Europe’s biggest money-laundering operations.

16:35 16 October 2014

At least 19 UK-based suspected 'front companies' are now at the heart of an investigation in a reported money laundering scandal worth $20 billion.

 

The funds are believed to have come from major criminals and corrupt officials around the world who want to make their ill-gotten cash appear "clean" so they can spend it without suspicion. 

 

An investigation that was carried out by The Independent and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project suggested that the scam appears to have gone on for four years before it was shut down in May by investigators in one of its main centres – the former Soviet republic of Moldova. 

 

Vasile Sarco, an investigating officer in Moldova, told The Independent: “This money was routed from Russia, but the companies incorporated in Britain were instrumental to transit the funds.”

 

According to reports, the launderers created front companies in the UK and made fake deals with each other. However, they later sued each other in courts in Moldova, demanding repayment of hundreds of millions of pounds of loans. 

 

Mr Sarco added: “We hope our colleagues [at Britain’s National Crime Agency] will uncover what activity took place in the UK, but our main difficulty is that the relevant authorities in the Russian Federation are being less co-operative.”