ORGANISED CRIMINALS with links to Northern Ireland's paramilitary groups are increasingly using third parties, including advisers, in an effort to hide the origin of their money, according to senior financial investigators, reports The Financial Times.
According to the paper, high-ranking police officers told MPs in a number of cases under investigation, "professional" advisers, including accountants, independent financial advisers and solicitors, had "assisted and advised criminals to conceal assets and avoid attention". Jane Earl, director of the Assets Recovery Agency, which was set up to seize criminals' assets, told the Commons Northern Ireland affairs committee that Ulster's criminal gangs were adopting a "business-like approach" to their activities, spreading their investments across borders and into various sectors, including th...
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