Bank controls over ‘dirty money’ laundering slammed

ANTI-CORRUPTION groups today warned money-laundering controls are not tight enough as UK banks were entangled in “funny money” claims.

Top banks have been accused of processing the cash in a Russian money-laundering scam. HSBC, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Lloyds and Coutts are among those involved. The Guardian reports will be particularly embarrassing for HSBC, which five years ago paid $1.9 billion (£1.5 billion) to settle a US money-laundering inquiry.

Transparency International executive director Robert

Barrington, who was first alerted to the UK end of the so-called Laundromat when it was exposed by the Evening Standard and Independent newspapers in 2014, said: “There have been some small improvements in controlling money laundering, but fundamentally nothing has changed since.”

While welcoming last week’s Treasury announcement of a new supervisor of anti-money laundering (AML) regulators, he said: “The worry is, if Brexit causes economic uncertainty, will the Government make it easier for funny money to come into the UK again?”

Banking records detailing the alleged money laundering were obtained by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta.

A spokesman for HSBC said: “The bank has systems in place to identify suspicious activity and report it to the appropriate authorities. This case highlights the need for greater information sharing between the public and private sectors, each of whom holds important information the other does not.”

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said: “This scandal needs to be investigated in full by the National Crime Agency, and the Government must ensure they have all the support needed. Britain cannot be a haven for criminals looking to hide money.”

A trail of shell firms and moneylaundering activities that could total £60 billion has found its way into private schools, jewellers and banks. @SimonEngStand