Investing.com - Financial Markets Worldwide

British police freeze $121 million in accounts on bribery fears

Published 14/08/2019, 17:22
British police freeze $121 million in accounts on bribery fears

LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - British police have frozen eight
bank accounts containing a total of more than 100 million pounds
($121 million), which is suspected to have derived from bribery
and corruption overseas.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Wednesday a London
court had approved the Account Freezing Orders (AFOs), the
largest granted to date, and that police would recover the funds
if investigators proved it had been intended for unlawful use.
The NCA said it could not provide any details that could
identify individuals related to the accounts.
AFOs and Unexplained Wealth Orders, that allow police to
freeze assets until property owners account for their wealth,
are part of a toolbox introduced last year to help stem a tide
of suspected corrupt cash washing through the country.
London has long attracted corrupt foreign money, especially
from Russia, Nigeria, Pakistan, former Soviet states and Asia,
and the NCA estimates that around 100 billion pounds of dirty
money is moved through or into Britain each year.
"The NCA is ... seeking to ... convince the NCA's foreign
counterparts that even if they cannot prosecute untouchable
oligarchs at home, if they have assets here, these can be
attacked," said David Corker, a partner at law firm Corker
Binning.
($1 = 0.8290 pounds)

Latest comments

Install Our App
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers
© 2007-2025 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.