Russian Laundromat

The $20.8 billion was laundered in 96 countries, according to the investigation. According to money laundering experts, the money was moved initially to a network of 21 shell companies in the UK, Cyprus, and New Zealand, after which further payments went to wider group of companies, many of which were fictitious.[9]

Eleven companies registered in the UAE were named in the investigation as possible shell companies filtering the laundered money, and the data said that the UAE registered companies total received $434,076,385.[9]

Global banks that touched the laundered money included Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered, and Barclays.[3]

Afterwards, it was reported that $740 million had been processed by British banks as part of the scheme.[3] On 20 March 2017 the British paper The Guardian reported that hundreds of banks had helped launder KGB-related funds out of Russia, as uncovered by the investigation named Global Laundromat. Among the banks facing scrutiny under the investigation were HSBC, the Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, Lloyds, Barclays and Coutts. HSBC was listed among the 17 banks in the UK that were "facing questions over what they knew about the international scheme and why they did not turn away suspicious money transfers", as HSBC "processed $545.3m in Laundromat cash, mostly routed through its Hong Kong branch". The Royal Bank of Scotland "handled $113.1 million" in Laundromat cash. Coutts, owned by RBS, had "accepted $32.8m worth of payments via its office in Zurich, Switzerland.” NatWest, also owned by RBS, was named for allowing through $1.1 million in related funds.[8] The Guardian reported that around 500 people were suspected of being involved, many of whom were wealthy Russians.[3]

On 27 March 2017, The Herald in Scotland reported that Scottish shell companies were used as part of the scheme, estimated at $5 billion. The newspaper said that one means to circumvent capital export controls was for a Western company to make a fake loan to a Russian company. The Russian company would intentionally default on the loan, and a corrupt court in Moldova would order the company to pay the "debt".[6]

The Guardian wrote that most of the companies involved in laundering the money had UK registration and over half of the money went to shell companies in Scotland, Birmingham, and London. Of those core companies, the data read that Seabon Lt. handled $9 billion through a network of companies.[4] Involved parties included Chadborg Trade LLP, a British shell company, and Tronlux Ventures LLP, also a British shell company.[5]

By June 2017 the UK watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, had demanded information from HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland concerning the Russian Laundromat.[10]

Citibank was listed among the American banks who were named as having handled the laundered funds, with banks in the US processing around $63.7 million between 2010 and 2014. Citibank was listed as having processed $37 million of that amount, with others including the Bank of America, which processed $14 million.[8] Others included JP Morgan and Wells Fargo in the United States.[3]

More than $6 billion was fraudulently moved, laundered or embezzled from Kazakhstan's BTA Bank by its former Chairman and CEO Mukhtar Ablyazov.[11]