Displaying items by tag: money laundering

Asghar Gheshalghian, a 48-year-old from Iran, has been jailed for eight years for money laundering in connection with people smuggling gangs involved in Channel crossings. He operated an unregistered money transfer business in North London, serving as a middleman for migrants and their families. He collected payments and, upon the migrants' safe arrival in the UK, passed the money to the gangs, earning a commission. His illicit activities were masked by a front business in rug dealing. Arrested in 2021 after a two-year investigation, Gheshalghian's premises were searched, resulting in the seizure of around £50,000. Phone evidence linked him to many Iranian migrants who claimed asylum in the UK. In total, he channelled about £1.6 million through his bank accounts. Evidence in his trial included covert recordings where Gheshalghian boasted about his criminal business. In sentencing him, Mr Justice Griffith emphasised his significant role in facilitating illegal immigration. The case highlights ongoing efforts to combat organised immigration crime.

New in-depth analysis found unacceptable levels of money laundering risks in French real estate, despite transparency measures. Non-compliance, incomplete data, and loopholes are creating a brick wall for attempts to follow flows of dirty money into real estate. Six years after France began collecting information on the beneficial owners of companies, almost a third of legal entities have failed to comply. Consequently over 7.33 million parcels of land, which could contain one or multiple properties, are anonymously held. There is a dead end for efforts to follow the money of white-collar criminals, kleptocrats and sanctioned elites into French real estate, which is known to be a favoured destination for corrupt cash. Over 1.5 million registered entities have not yet declared who ultimately owns and benefits from them.

On 8 July Martin Sargeant was charged by the Metropolitan Police with fraud by false representation and money laundering in the diocese of London. The sum involved is in the region of £5 million. Mr Sargeant left his post in 2019 after a review by the incoming Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally. A diocesan statement says that, at the time, there was no suspicion or evidence of criminality. But, last year, the London Diocesan Fund contacted the police and the Charity Commission after a parish raised concerns about funds they had not received. Bishop Sarah thanked the police and the diocesan financial team for their work over the past year, as they continue to investigate the extent of this complex fraud which took place over a decade ago.

This week, policymakers in Canada received a wake-up call to address the country's money laundering problem, known as ‘snow washing’. Following reports of money laundering through gambling, real estate and luxury car sectors, the government of the province of British Columbia convened an independent commission to look into the problem. They called on numerous witnesses, experts and Transparency International. They found serious failings from the provincial through to the federal level. Real estate professionals rarely recognise money laundering. Pray for better guidance from the federal financial intelligence unit. Secrecy in real estate ownership aggravates the problem. One-third of the 100 most valuable residential properties are owned through anonymous shell companies. Pray for more indexes that record the true owners of companies, trusts or partnerships owning real estate. The need for Canada to accelerate this fight is even clearer in light of the difficulties the country now faces in implementing its own sanctions against Russian kleptocrats following the invasion of Ukraine.

Tom Tugendhat will chair a foreign affairs select committee to look into the Government’s apparent inability to crack down on money-laundering. Russian oligarchs’ use of London to launder their fortunes will come under renewed scrutiny. The Foreign Office is often accused of leaving a gap between its tough anti-Russian rhetoric and failure to control either money-laundering or those in the UK who enable the corruption. Foreigh secretary Liz Truss says the UK has some of the toughest anti-corruption laws in the world, but even in her short period in office she has been repeatedly challenged to review whether the laws are working effectively or adequately policed. The inquiry will follow up a previous investigation which found gaps in government anti-corruption armoury, warning, ‘Turning a blind eye to London’s role in hiding the proceeds of Kremlin-connected corruption risks signalling that the UK is not serious about confronting the full spectrum of Putin’s offensive measures.’

Mohamed Amersi, who partially funded Boris Johnson’s campaign to become prime minister, also advised the telecoms firm Telia, which in 2010 made a controversial $220m payment to a secretive offshore company. Oil executive Victor Fedotov, who gave £900,000 to 34 Tory MPs, made $4bn from allegedly corrupt Russian pipeline deals, and is currently seeking government approval for a controversial energy link between the UK and France. Lubov Chernukhin has given over £1.8m to the Conservatives since 2012. The secret offshore wealth she shares with her husband, a former Russian minister, includes a London house worth £38m and a £10m Oxfordshire mansion. Mrs Chernukhin's lawyers say she is a British citizen and is entitled to do as she wishes with her money. High-profile foreign politicians and UK political donors have over 1,500 UK properties, bought secretly using offshore firms worth £4bn. See also

The UK is a hub for dirty money from global criminal activity - bribery, theft of state funds, misuse of public office. It is developed with the aid of companies incorporated in the UK and in its offshore financial centres and invested into luxury UK property, accessing prestigious institutions and privileged lifestyles. An estimated scale of dirty money entering the UK is more than tens of billions of pounds annually. Anonymous companies, where the true owner is hidden, make it difficult to detect the origins of their illicit wealth. The UK is failing to prevent companies registered here being used by money launderers. The secrecy afforded by UK companies - and those registered in offshore financial centres - is facilitating economic crime on a global scale. This must change.

Journalists and activists are under constant risk in too many parts of the world. Recently the extent and all-consuming nature of the threats was revealed when new technology was discovered. An Israeli company invented spyware that can do everything from extracting data to inconspicuously recording live audio and video. They insist their technology is intended for use against criminals and terrorists. But the Pegasus Project shows that it has been used by some governments to target journalists, activists, and political opponents. Journalist Khadija Ismayilova led the investigations which exposed Danske Bank moving suspicious cash to launder Azerbaijan’s international image. US$230 billion in dirty money was funnelled through the bank’s accounts in twelve years. Yet full accountability for the apparent anti-money laundering failures has been impossible to achieve – until this week. The European Commission has proposed an anti-money laundering agency, which could be a much-needed gamechanger.

Over 200 police officers unleashed dawn raids at homes across Oxfordshire. Two men and three women, all from the Wantage area, were arrested on suspicion of modern slavery, money laundering, and tax evasion. After searching cars, sheds, and homes, the officers found expensive jewellery, large quantities of cash, and a suspected stolen JCB. Ten people were charged with drug supply offences following a series of county lines warrants executed by specialist crime officers in Enfield, Haringey, Croydon, Essex and Thames Valley. The warrants were the culmination of a 13-month long investigation targeting drug supply and associated violent crime in Norwich, and took place on Tuesday 28 July at residential addresses across London and surrounding counties. During the manhunt, officers found a number of vulnerable people affected by the organised crime network. Safeguarding measures are being implemented. See also

After raiding fifteen sites in Luton, police found eleven Romanian and Hungarian women in their twenties, speaking little or no English, believed to be victims of sexual exploitation. Eight men were arrested and charged with managing and controlling brothels and money laundering. The raids were led by 150 police officers and specialist staff, who also seized substantial amounts of cash. Women are offered contracts to come here to work in a proper job, but ‘unfortunately that is not the case’. Inspector Jim Goldsmith said that there has been a dramatic rise over recent months in off-street sex trade in Luton where numerous brothels have opened. ‘We try to keep these women as safe as we can after rescue, and that was the purpose of these raids - to take them out of that environment, give them the opportunity to exit that life, and get them back to their families.’