Lebenslüge of Money Laundering

We have seen the cycle before. A money laundering ring is busted open by a British newspaper following an investigation by foreign authorities. We learn that British companies and banks washed the proceeds of criminal activities in London and the United Kingdom (UK) dependencies. The British authorities respond the next day by saying that a thorough inquiry is underway or at least that they are seriously considering one. The story then slips from the front page until the next ring is broken open.

On 20 March 2017, the Guardian revealed that it had received documents from a three-year investigation by the Latvian and Moldavian authorities into what has been called the “Global Laundromat.” These documents purport to show that British-registered companies and British-based banks were heavily involved in the moving out of at least $20 billion (bn) of proceeds of criminal activities from Russia. Last year, separately, the Home Affairs Select Committee of the UK Parliament published a report suggesting that the London housing market was a primary avenue for the laundering of £90 bn of illicit money every year. Some of that may have come from India. The year before that, Roberto Saviano, a leading expert on the international drugs trade was quoted in the Independent, saying of the global drugs trade that “Mexico is its heart and London is its head.”