First Curacao International Bank in the Dutch Antilles in the Caribbean

Accountancy firm Griffins tracked down £51m of unpaid tax being laundered through the First Curacao International Bank in the Dutch Antilles in the Caribbean.
With the help of law firm Blake Lapthorn and tax and customs investigators, one of the biggest 'carousel fraud' moneylaundering rings has been smashed. This type of fraud relies on the fact that exported goods are not charged VAT, yet the selling company can reclaim the tax. The tax should be repaid when the goods are finally sold, but the last company in the chain collapses or disappears, leaving the Exchequer out of pocket to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds. Investigators believe that as much as $1 trillion (£600bn) was laundered through the Caribbean bank. 'This was a dream arrangement for all kinds of thieves and drug dealers,' said one source. 'Crooks could anonymously fire money around the world under false names.' Hunt was acting for creditors of a failed British textile company that suddenly saw turnover go from £200,000 to £425m as it sent the same mobile phones back and forth across Europe claiming cash from the taxman each time goods crossed the borders. The team tracked the cash to the Caribbean bank. A deal between authorities in the UK and the Netherlands saw the bank shut and UK creditors won a court order seizing assets.