The skyline of city centre, Glasgow, Scotland. A giant bank heist has exposed Scotland as a magnet for money-launderers. Yadid Levy/Robert Harding World Imagery/Corbis
The skyline of city centre, Glasgow, Scotland. A giant bank heist has exposed Scotland as a magnet for money-launderers. Yadid Levy/Robert Harding World Imagery/Corbis

Scottish limited partnerships ‘used as cover for bank heist'



The full scale of the massive bank heist which exposed Scotland as a magnet for money-launderers has been revealed by international investigators.

According to private detective agency Kroll, almost US$3 billion was laundered from three of Moldova’s leading banks, emptying them of almost all their funds.

Investigators say much of the cash was channelled through shell companies in Scotland, as well as other UK firms, the Herald Scotland reported.

Kroll's findings come more than two years after an initial investigation first highlighted the role played by Scottish limited partnerships in the complex fraud, which has been described as "the heist of the century". The initial report by Kroll, leaked by the Herald and the BBC, revealed that limited partnerships, which have few reporting requirements and whose ownership is often opaque, are a favourite tool for criminals to disguise illegally-gained proceeds.

Around 20 UK limited partnerships were allegedly involved in the scheme, with all but one of them in Scotland.

The latest report by Kroll revealed in greater detail how the three banks in the ex-Soviet republic – Banca de Economii, Banca Social and Unibank banks – were robbed between 2012-14, forcing the impoverished country into a massive banking bailout.

The agency accuses Israeli businessman Ilan Shor of effectively syphoning funds from the banks, in what it calls a “core laundering mechanism”.

The scheme allegedly involved Mr Shor making fraudulent loans to shell companies, mostly in the UK, with accounts in Latvian banks.

While it was initially believed $1bn vanished from the banks, the latest report suggests as much as $2.9bn was laundered through 81 bank accounts at two Latvian banks.

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About $600 million remains unaccounted for. Mr Shor was sentenced to seven and half years in prison for masterminding the fraud, although he is currently still at liberty pending an appeal.

The report, published by Moldova's central bank last week, said: "The majority of these accounts were held in the names of UK limited partnerships, or companies registered in offshore locations such as Belize, BVI and
Panama.

“Most of these companies had recently been incorporated, they had no established business, no public accounts, no business premises, no other bank accounts, no public profile and no identifiable owners.”

Mr Shor, a 26-year-old tycoon known for his fleet of expensive cars, a football club and a Russian pop-star wife, denies all the allegations.

“In essence, Kroll continues to act under orders from the main beneficiaries of the stolen funds,” he said.

Anti-corruption campaign group Transparency International has dubbed SLPs "Britain's home-grown secrecy vehicle", given their links to two other major money-laundering scams: the multi-billion-dollar Russian and Azerbaijani Laundromats.

This autumn, British ministers introduced new regulation designed to improve transparency at SLPs.

According to a Herald investigation earlier in the year, these rules have been widely flouted in the past.

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SPECS
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The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

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Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

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Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

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The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8

Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm

Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km

Price: Dh380,000

On sale: now 

SPECS

Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale

Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni

Director: Amith Krishnan

Rating: 3.5/5

The bio

Who inspires you?

I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist

How do you relax?

Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.

What is favourite book?

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times

What is your favourite Arabic film?

Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki

What is favourite English film?

Mamma Mia

Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?

If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.  

 

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COMPANY PROFILE

Company name: Letstango.com

Started: June 2013

Founder: Alex Tchablakian

Based: Dubai

Industry: e-commerce

Initial investment: Dh10 million

Investors: Self-funded

Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month

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Results

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Friday fixtures

10am, Tolerance Oval, Abu Dhabi – Ireland v Jersey

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It's up to you to go green

Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.

“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”

When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.

He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.

“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.

One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.  

The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.

Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.

But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”

The specs: 2019 Jeep Wrangler

Price, base: Dh132,000

Engine: 3.6-litre V6

Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 285hp @ 6,400rpm

Torque: 347Nm @ 4,100rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 9.6L to 10.3L / 100km

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Director: Alfonso Cuaron 

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville 

Rating: 4/5

Keane on …

Liverpool’s Uefa Champions League bid: “They’re great. With the attacking force they have, for me, they’re certainly one of the favourites. You look at the teams left in it - they’re capable of scoring against anybody at any given time. Defensively they’ve been good, so I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t go on and win it.”

Mohamed Salah’s debut campaign at Anfield: “Unbelievable. He’s been phenomenal. You can name the front three, but for him on a personal level, he’s been unreal. He’s been great to watch and hopefully he can continue now until the end of the season - which I’m sure he will, because he’s been in fine form. He’s been incredible this season.”

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s instant impact at former club LA Galaxy: “Brilliant. It’s been a great start for him and for the club. They were crying out for another big name there. They were lacking that, for the prestige of LA Galaxy. And now they have one of the finest stars. I hope they can go win something this year.”

The specs

Price, base / as tested Dh1,100,000 (est)

Engine 5.2-litre V10

Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch

Power 630bhp @ 8,000rpm

Torque 600Nm @ 6,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined 15.7L / 100km (est) 

The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

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Teaching your child to save

Pre-school (three - five years)

You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.

Early childhood (six - eight years)

Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.

Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)

Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.

Young teens (12 - 14 years)

Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.

Teenage (15 - 18 years)

Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.

Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)

Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.

* JP Morgan Private Bank 

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Based: Dubai
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Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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Transmission: Continuously variable transmission

Power: 182hp @ 5,800rpm

Torque: 239Nm @ 4,400rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 8.1L / 100km (estimated)

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Based: Muscat

Launch year: 2018

Number of employees: 40

Sector: Online food delivery

Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception 

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