Solicitors still fail to report money laundering, claims NCIS

Solicitors and accountants are not reporting money-laundering, the National Criminal Intelligence Service complains in its annual "threats assessment" of organised crime. It also claims there are at least 938 organised crime gangs working Britain, earning £50 billion last year. This is based on its definition of a gang as having at least three members "involved in prolonged or indefinite criminal activity". The drugs trade is worth £8.5 billion, other crimes range from kidnapping, smuggling illegal immigrants and robbery. 

There were 14,500 disclosures of suspicious activity by 444 institutions. But the NCIS is concerned that "there is a disparity between the number of deposit taking institutions -approximately 500- and the number making suspicious transaction reports -126." Of those, ten major banks made nearly 40% of all reports. 

Most of the gangs are "British Caucasian", but most nationalities have groups which cause concern: the Chinese Triads are into kidnapping, the Yardies from Jamaica (not one gang, but a generic name) are feared to be moving to the regional capitals, and the Turks have a lucrative part of the heroin trade. Nigerians are running some persistent frauds. As in other fields of activity, so in crime, the NCIS reports that Indians "are increasingly integrated into the general pattern of British criminality". 

But the NCIS says that two of the most talked-about groups, the Albanians and the Russian Mafia, have not had much impact in this country -so far.   (UK 03/08/00)