An investigation has found that British companies laundered millions of pounds stolen from the Russian treasury in a £150m tax fraud, according to the Telegraph.
According to the paper, £35m passed through the foreign accounts of 10 UK registered companies.
The 2007 fraud has been linked with five deaths, including Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
The discovery of the fraud prompted MPs to urge the government to follow America’s lead and ban UK entry of the 60 Russians involved in the fraud and Magnitsky’s death.
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At least £35m passed through the foreign bank accounts of about 10 UK registered front companies to “clean” the money, an investigation has found.
The alleged 2007 fraud at the heart of the case has been linked with five deaths, including that of Russian anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, whose story has been turned into a play and documentary.
Evidence that the UK system has been abused prompted one MP to demand the Government follow the US’s lead and ban the 60 Russians implicated in the fraud and Mr Magnitsky’s death, including a number of state officials, from entering the country.
Dominic Raab MP said: “We don’t want Britain to become a playground for these gangsters, let alone a battleground for the violence that tends to follow.”
Among the UK companies named is Nomirex, a shell company owned in Cyprus and names a Cypriot yoga teacher as its director. Between 2007 and 2009, its accounts stated it was “inactive”. However, an investigation by the BBC’s Panorama found that $365m was transferred through its Latvian bank account in that time.
A British aristocrat has also been accused of money laundering. Andrew Moray Stuart, heir to the Viscountcy of Stuart of Findhorn who lives in Dubai and Mauritius, was named last year in a legal complaint filed with the City of London police.
Switzerland, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Austria, Estonia, Finland and Hong Kong are investigating the allegations of money laundering.
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