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THREAD: This is what the government don't want you to know about the extent of money laundering in the UK
THREAD: This is what the government don't want you to know about the extent of money laundering in the UK
1. A vast financial ecosystem of tax havens, UK shell companies and accountancy loopholes mean that those who wish for the true scale of their opulence to remain unmeasured can do so.
2. According to the National Crime Agency, fraud costs the UK nearly £200bn a year; and a further £100bn of stolen money is laundered through the financial system, much of it using shell companies registered at Companies House.
3. According to the campaign group Transparency International, of 52 global corruption cases in recent years found the had involved 766 British corporate vehicles, which between them laundered £80bn.
4. This has created a damning juxtaposition: There are just 80 Companies House staff dealing with "integrity issues' including a unit in charge of verifying the identity of the ultimate owners of these companies. By contrast the DWP has 3,765 staff investigating benefit fraud.
5. According to Nienke Palstra of Global Witness: "It is impossible for Companies House to take on more responsibility for verifying data and policing the PSC without adequate resources".
6. The extent of this issue was highlighted when it was found that Sir Jim Ratcliffe, having volunteered information, was £15.3 wealthier than considered in 2018. He is now Britain's richest individual, worth £21bn.
7. Although there is no suggestion that this money was gained unlawfully it exposes serious flaws in the Companies House system of registering and tracking companies, which is being openly subverted.
8. A study by Global Witness reveals that 300,000 companies have declared they have no beneficial owner, because of rules which say that only those with a share-holding of 25% or more must be named.
9. Further to this, nearly 3,000 companies state that their Personal of Significant Control (PSC) is another company based in a tax haven and 2,083 are ultimately owned by individuals whose stewardship of other companies was so lacking that they were sacked.
10. What is more disturbing is that 76 beneficial owners share the same name and DOB as individuals who appear on lists of US economic sanctions: Among those found to own UK companies: the wife of Ukranian Oligarcg with links to President Putin
11. Perhaps the most extreme example is Marc Feldman, who despite his part in £10m worth of tobacco fraud was still able to assume the directorships of, not 1, but 761 British companies.
