Up to £464m ‘moved through more than 3,000 UK high street shell companies’
Research shows firms are branded as beauty and convenience but apparently operate in money-laundering and terrorist financing sectors Up to £464m has “moved through” more than 3,000 UK shell companies branded as beauty and convenience stores but apparently operating in the money-laundering and terrorist financing sectors, a new analysis sets out. The companies – listed as hairdressers, barber…
A new analysis reveals that up to £464 million has "moved through" more than 3,000 UK shell companies, posing potential risks of money-laundering and terrorist financing. These companies, disguised as beauty and convenience stores, such as hairdressers, barber shops, mini-marts, and corner shops, exhibit surprising similarities in their lifespans of approximately six months, despite their seemingly distinct purposes.
The research, conducted by anti-money laundering software provider SmartSearch, highlights the clustering of these suspect companies in specific areas, with 83% of hairdressing businesses and 92% of convenience stores being incorporated in the first and second quarters, followed by a majority of dissolutions in the fourth quarter.
This pattern repeats annually across both sectors, with a single postcode in Cardiff housing 119 suspected companies. The findings underscore the urgent need for improved regulatory response to combat exploitation of the UK company register, as highlighted by experts and government plans to address the issue.
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