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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Simon Goodley

Up to £464m ‘moved through more than 3,000 UK high street shell companies’

The hands of a hairdresser holding scissors and a comb while cutting the hair of a customer in a bob style
The companies – listed as hairdressers, barber shops and salons or mini-marts and corner shops – show ‘remarkably similar lifespans’ of about six months. Photograph: Vagengeym_Elena/Getty

Up to £464m has “moved through” more than 3,000 UK shell companies branded as beauty and convenience stores but apparently operating in the money-laundering and terrorist financing sectors, a new analysis sets out.

The companies – listed as hairdressers, barber shops and salons, on the one hand, or mini-marts and corner shops on the other – show “remarkably similar lifespans” of about six months despite their seemingly different purposes.

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