Britain’s ‘most-wanted’ tax cheat begins eight year jail sentence after nine years on the run June 10, 2022 One of “Britain’s most-wanted tax fugitives” has appeared in court for her role in a multimillion-pound VAT fraud after she was extradited following nine years on the run. Sarah Panitzke, 48, originally from York, finally faced justice when she appeared at Kingston Crown Court in south-west London on Friday. Panitzke absconded in May 2013 while [...]
UK Crime Agency calls for tighter regulation of crypto mixers March 15, 2022 The UK's National Crime Agency has called for tighter regulation of crypto protocols that enable traders to obscure transactions.
Investment firms cannot afford to ignore MiFID II three-way reconciliations September 29, 2022 The EU launched MiFID II three years ago, but penalties for non-compliance continue to rise. The number of sanctions issued by national competent authorities (NCAs) in 2020 quadrupled to 613 totalling €8.4m, up from 371 sanctions totalling €1.8m in 2019. Firms incur penalties simply because their reports contain errors. According to a 2021 ACA report, [...]
UK is losing fight against fraud as anti-corruption watchdogs are “under-resourced” January 24, 2022 An anti-corruption think-tank has warned the UK is losing the fight against financial crime, as a lack of funding has left the country’s law enforcement agencies “over-stretched” and “under-resourced.” In a report, the think-tank called on the government to reinvest money recuperated from criminals into the government agencies fighting corruption and financial crime, as it [...]
Drug traffickers jailed for smuggling $32m cocaine haul in yams February 26, 2021 Two men were sentenced to 36 years combined in prison today for their attempt to smuggle cocaine worth £32m into the UK in 2016. A National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation found that Juan David Perea Lopez, 26, of New Cross, London, and Bashar Fares Al-Safee, 31, from North Kensington, London, arranged to import 400kg of [...]
Nigel Farage hits back at claims he accepted more than half a million pounds from Russia: ‘Nonsense’ March 16, 2022 Former UKIP and Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has called suggestions that he received hundreds of thousands of pounds from the Russian state “nonsense”. Labour MP Chris Bryant told a parliamentary debate that he wanted to “point out” payments for Mr Farage amounting to almost £550,000, which he said came from the Kremlin-backed broadcaster RT [...]
Former BBC Panorama and Question Time producer who searched for ‘preteen’ sexual abuse online sentenced January 14, 2022 A former BBC producer convicted of possessing indecent images of children has received a 22-month suspended sentence. Victor Melleney, 76, who previously worked on programmes such as Panorama and Question time, also pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to four counts of possessing a prohibited weapon. He was arrested by National Crime Agency officers at [...]
Man jailed after botched attempt to smuggle £1.4m in socks and suitcases March 10, 2021 A money launderer who tried to smuggle nearly £1.4m in cash out of the UK in his socks and luggage has been jailed for more than two years after his plans were foiled at Heathrow Airport. Zdenek Kamaryt, 38, originally from the Czech Republic, was detained at Heathrow on 8 November 2020 as he attempted [...]
Brexit: NCA finds ‘no evidence’ of criminal activity by Arron Banks or Leave.EU September 24, 2019 The National Crime Agency (NCA) has found “no evidence” that Leave.EU or its founder Arron Banks have committed criminal offences. The pro-Brexit campaign group was fined £70,000 by the Electoral Commission in May 2018, prompting the agency to launch a probe into the organisation. Read more: Met Police drop investigation into Arron Banks’ and Nigel [...]
Banks claw back fraudulent bounce back loans January 24, 2021 High street banks are scrambling to claw back emergency coronavirus loans linked to suspected fraud. Banks including HSBC, Barclays, Natwest and Lloyds are among those that have started to freeze accounts over fears that government-backed bounce back loans have been obtained fraudulently. They have reclaimed up to £50,000 from customers, according to the Mail on [...]