Russian Laundromat
The Russian Laundromat was a scheme to move $20-80 billion out of Russia from 2010 to 2014 through a network of global banks, many of them in Moldova and Latvia.[1][2]
The scheme's alleged architect of the scheme is Veaceslav Platon, a Moldovan businessman and former MP.[2] Igor Putin (Vladimir Putin's cousin) has also been named in connection with this scheme.[3]
The term "Russian Laundromat" was coined by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.[2]
On 20 March 2017 the British paper The Guardian reported that hundreds of banks had helped launder KGB-related funds out of Russia, as uncovered by the investigation named Global Laundromat. HSBC was listed among the 17 banks in the UK that were “facing questions over what they knew about the international scheme and why they did not turn away suspicious money transfers,” as HSBC “processed $545.3m in Laundromat cash, mostly routed through its Hong Kong branch.” Other banks facing scrutiny under the investigation included the Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, Lloyds, Barclays and Coutts.[4]
The Herald reported that Scottish shell companies were used as part of the scheme. The newspaper said that one means to circumvent capital export controls was for a Western company to make a fake loan to a Russian company. The Russian company would intentionally default on the loan, and a corrupt court in Moldova would order the company to pay the "debt".[5]
References
- ^ "OCCRP - The Russian Laundromat". Reportingproject.net. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
- ^ a b c Luke Harding (1 January 1970). "The Global Laundromat: how did it work and who benefited? | World news". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
- ^ Harding, Luke; Hopkins, Nick; Barr, Caelainn (20 March 2017). "British banks handled vast sums of laundered Russian money" – via The Guardian.
- ^ British banks handled vast sums of laundered Russian money in ‘’The Guardian’’ by Luke Harding, Nick Hopkins and Caelainn Barr on Monday, 20 March 2017
- ^ "Scots shell companies used to launder £4 billion out of Russia". 27 March 2017.