Properties linked to money laundering

THE UK’s National Crime Agency has said that it is investigating the owner of three London properties worth a combined £80 million (approx. €90 million) under anti-corruption laws. They are using the new Unexplained Wealth law for only the second time and in the meantime freezing orders have been made against the properties, effectively stopping them being sold or transferred. Graeme Biggar from the NCA said “The purchase of prime property in London is a tactic used to launder money and we will use all the powers available to us to target those who try to do it”. The person under investigation is believed to be an Uzbeki businessman connected to the oil industry who will now have to explain exactly where the cash came from to pay for the buildings.