Formations House (now The London Office) is a "company mill" which registered and operated companies for clients included organized crime groups, state-owned oil companies, and fraudulent banks.[1][2][3]
The company was founded in 2001 and registered at 29 Harley Street and promised to let clients run businesses "in Central London at a prestigious Harley Street business address".[4] The company formed more than 450,000 corporate entities in Britain, Gambia, Hong Kong, the Seychelles, the British Virgin Islands, Ireland, the US state of Delaware, Panama, Gibraltar, Jersey, the Isle of Man, Belize and Mauritius.[4]
#29 Leaks
editIn December 2019, Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets) published "#29 Leaks" in partnership with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and more than 20 outlets in 18 countries.[5]
The 450 gigabyte leak included emails, documents, faxes, and recordings of phone calls.[1] Investigations revealed the firm ran a web of companies registered in Hong Kong, Cyprus, the British Virgin Islands and Pakistan,[6] helped clients avoid anti-money laundering rules[7] and had created banks in The Gambia in an attempt to create a tax haven.[6][8] According to The Times, there was no evidence that Formations House did anything illegal but their investigation highlighted worrying vulnerabilities in the UK's defences against money laundering".[9]
The release was compared to both the Panama Papers and the Paradise Papers.[1][2][3] Belgian tax authorities initiated an investigation based on data from this leak and from the Cayman National Bank and Trust leak published by DDoSecrets the prior month.[10] Politicians in Sweden and the UK, including anti-corruption chief John Penrose said the leak showed the need for reforms on company creation and registration.[6][11]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Smith, Suzanne (December 4, 2019). "The story behind the #29Leaks data dump". Crikey. Archived from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
- ^ a b Hall, Kevin G. (December 5, 2019). "How #29Leaks differs from Panama Papers, other leaks". McClatchy DC Bureau. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
- ^ a b Feidt, Dan (December 4, 2019). "Global Offshore Corporate Networks Exposed in Massive Data Leak". Unicorn Riot. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
- ^ a b Bullough, Oliver (2016-04-19). "Offshore in central London: the curious case of 29 Harley Street". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
- ^ "#29Leaks: Inside a London Company Mill". Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. December 4, 2019. Archived from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
- ^ a b c "The British company that set up firms for international criminals — Finance Uncovered". financeuncovered.org. Archived from the original on 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
- ^ Gibbons, Katie (2023-12-24). "Undercover with Formations House: 'It won't be easy to take cash in . . . banks generally don't like it'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 2023-12-25. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
- ^ Greenwood, George; Eriksson, Christian; Brown, David (2023-12-24). "UK firm Formations House and corrupt dictator Yahya Jammeh". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 2023-12-25. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
- ^ "The Times view on Formations House: Dirty Laundry". The Times. 7 December 2019. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021.
- ^ Hope, Alan (December 22, 2019). "Tax authorities investigate new leaks incriminating Belgians". The Brussels Times. Archived from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
- ^ Eriksson, Christian; Brown, David; Greenwood, George (2023-12-24). "Formations House leak shows need for reforms on creating companies, anti-corruption chief says". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 2023-12-23. Retrieved 2023-12-24.