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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 1d

👀 The next episode in this blockbuster bribery saga airs on 3rd November at Southwark Crown Court. We’ll be following every step of this case, and you can visit our Court Calendar to see more details!
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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 1d

🤔 The trial will be a crucial test of whether senior individuals can be successfully prosecuted following a DPA.

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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 1d

⚖️ Standing-room only at Westminster Magistrates Court yesterday at a hearing about charges against Entain’s former CEO, Chairman, finance director and 9 others for bribery and conspiracy to defraud. This follows Entain’s £585 million fine under a Deferred Prosecution Agreement.

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Unlock Democracy @unlockdemocracy.bsky.social · 5d

Voters think UK politics is becoming more corrupt.

That's why alongside @spotlightcorruption.org, @transparencyuk.bsky.social & more, we’re urging the govt to ensure the new Ethics & Integrity Commission is:

✔️ Independent
✔️ Properly resourced
✔️ Backed w/ real powers
www.politico.eu/newsletter/p...

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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 5d

👇 Really happy to have signed this important letter alongside many of our civil society partners. The government has a great opportunity to make the proposed Ethics & Integrity Commission into a much-needed force for improving standards in public life.

Unlock Democracy @unlockdemocracy.bsky.social · 5d

Voters think UK politics is becoming more corrupt.

That's why alongside @spotlightcorruption.org, @transparencyuk.bsky.social & more, we’re urging the govt to ensure the new Ethics & Integrity Commission is:

✔️ Independent
✔️ Properly resourced
✔️ Backed w/ real powers
www.politico.eu/newsletter/p...

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Reposted by Spotlight on Corruption

Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 15d

💷 Have you got a flair for raising money for great causes?
🙋 Keen to play a pivotal role in the fight against corruption?
🫵 You might be the person we need! We’re looking for a top fundraiser to join the friendly Spotlight on Corruption team.
Apply below 👇. Deadline: 18 October.

Spotlight is recruiting! We are looking for a Senior Philanthropy and Partnership Manager - Spotlight on Corruption

We are looking for someone experienced, ambitious and creative to be our first Senior Philanthropy and Partnership Manager, to drive our fundraising strategy,

www.spotlightcorruption.org

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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 5d

👇 Really happy to have signed this important letter alongside many of our civil society partners. The government has a great opportunity to make the proposed Ethics & Integrity Commission into a much-needed force for improving standards in public life.

Unlock Democracy @unlockdemocracy.bsky.social · 5d

Voters think UK politics is becoming more corrupt.

That's why alongside @spotlightcorruption.org, @transparencyuk.bsky.social & more, we’re urging the govt to ensure the new Ethics & Integrity Commission is:

✔️ Independent
✔️ Properly resourced
✔️ Backed w/ real powers
www.politico.eu/newsletter/p...

2 10

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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 5d

💬 @suehawley.bsky.social in @thetimes.com: “It is now critical that the government uses all the tools at its disposal to recover all the money, including considering compensation orders against the directors of #PPEMedpro and other companies found to have ripped off the taxpayer during Covid.”

Michelle Mone-linked firm must pay £122m for breaking PPE contract

PPE Medpro, run by Baroness Mone’s husband Doug Barrowman, has two weeks to pay compensation for ‘faulty’ gowns

www.thetimes.com

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Sue Hawley @suehawley.bsky.social · 5d

Thanks Dan. We at @spotlightcorruption.org think Director disqualification in this case could lead to compensation orders. These can be used against shadow directors and those who control a company. Be interested if anyone else who is an insolvency lawyer has other ideas.

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Simon James @jim1132.bsky.social · 6d

This may be worth considering when covering the Met Police and Mone today - a highly successful Met operation and how they intend to get the money back. @lbc.co.uk

Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 6d

₿ Big win for the Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service this week as Chinese ‘BitQueen’ Yadi Zhang and her fixer Hok Seng Ling pleaded guilty to money laundering. Recovering the £5.5 billion worth of Bitcoin will be a key test of the UK's toolkit to tackle criminal crypto assets:

Two people convicted following world's largest crypto seizure

Zhimin Qian and Hok Seng Ling plead guilty in one of the largest money laundering cases in UK history

news.met.police.uk

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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 5d

Here's Sue's full quote.

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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 5d

💬 “No doubt any attempt to do this will be heavily contested and hard fought.”
@suehawley.bsky.social also commented on ways in which the govt could recover the £122 million that a judge ordered PPE Medpro to repay in this @financialtimes.com article.

UK’s PPE Medpro win unlikely to guarantee recovery of £122mn, lawyers warn

Medical equipment supplier linked to Michelle Mone breached government contract during pandemic, judge says

www.ft.com

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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 5d

💬 @suehawley.bsky.social in @thetimes.com: “It is now critical that the government uses all the tools at its disposal to recover all the money, including considering compensation orders against the directors of #PPEMedpro and other companies found to have ripped off the taxpayer during Covid.”

Michelle Mone-linked firm must pay £122m for breaking PPE contract

PPE Medpro, run by Baroness Mone’s husband Doug Barrowman, has two weeks to pay compensation for ‘faulty’ gowns

www.thetimes.com

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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 6d

₿ Big win for the Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service this week as Chinese ‘BitQueen’ Yadi Zhang and her fixer Hok Seng Ling pleaded guilty to money laundering. Recovering the £5.5 billion worth of Bitcoin will be a key test of the UK's toolkit to tackle criminal crypto assets:

Two people convicted following world's largest crypto seizure

Zhimin Qian and Hok Seng Ling plead guilty in one of the largest money laundering cases in UK history

news.met.police.uk

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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 6d

🎯Using this entire haul to plug the public finances (as rumoured) would be incredibly short-sighted. Instead, law enforcement should get their fair and rightful share to invest in staying one step ahead of the criminals.
👇 See our report for more info.

Forging a virtuous circle: Reinvesting fines and criminal assets to turbocharge the fight against economic crime - Spotlight on Corruption

The UK agencies tasked with fighting economic crime together generate £566 million pounds on average each year for the government through seizing criminal

www.spotlightcorruption.org

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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 6d

💰 On the other hand, the court may decide victims in China should only be compensated for their original investment (estimated at £640m), allowing the UK authorities to cash in on the huge increase in the price of Bitcoin in the years since the initial fraud.

UK seeks to keep £5bn bitcoin haul after money laundering convictions

Complex legal battle over seized assets could run for years

on.ft.com

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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 6d

🇨🇳 On the one hand, the investigation benefitted from unprecedented cooperation with Chinese law enforcement while the victims of the fraud are in China – many of whom have claimed some redress through a compensation scheme in China and may secure further compensation in the English courts.

Notice to Victims of the Lantian Gerui Fraud | The Crown Prosecution Service

www.cps.gov.uk

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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 6d

❓This gives rise to complex questions about how recovered assets should be distributed, with a potential tussle between UK and Chinese authorities over who reaps the rewards of successful enforcement action.

UK and China do battle for the BitQueen’s crypto fortune

Zhimin Qian pleaded guilty to laundering over £5 billion in cryptocurrency, which Rachel Reeves wants to use to plug the hole in the budget

www.thetimes.com

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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 6d

⚖️ These criminal investigations have run alongside an ambitious civil recovery process led by a specialist team in the CPS who obtained a property freezing order from the High Court in December 2023. Now worth more than £5.5 billion, it’s the largest crypto seizure in the world.

Specialist CPS team involved in UK’s largest Bitcoin seizure | The Crown Prosecution Service

www.cps.gov.uk

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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 6d

👮The Metropolitan Police caught wind of the laundering operation in 2018 after her front person, Jian Wen, tried to buy 3 London properties worth £40.5 million. Convicted of money laundering in March 2024, Wen converted significant amounts of Bitcoin into cash and luxury goods:

How crypto queen built £3.4bn empire and dreamt of buying a country

Zhimin Qian is on the run but her forttune could be split between UK government and police

www.thetimes.com

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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 6d

🧠Zhang – also known as Zhimin Qian – was the criminal mastermind of a massive fraud that left 128,000 victims out of pocket in China. On Monday she pleaded guilty to two counts of money laundering, having stored the proceeds of the fraud in Bitcoin.

Woman admits UK bitcoin fraud charges after ‘world’s largest’ crypto seizure

Zhimin Qian pleads guilty after wallets with 61,000 bitcoins, currently worth over £5bn, seized from north London home

www.theguardian.com

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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 6d

₿ Big win for the Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service this week as Chinese ‘BitQueen’ Yadi Zhang and her fixer Hok Seng Ling pleaded guilty to money laundering. Recovering the £5.5 billion worth of Bitcoin will be a key test of the UK's toolkit to tackle criminal crypto assets:

Two people convicted following world's largest crypto seizure

Zhimin Qian and Hok Seng Ling plead guilty in one of the largest money laundering cases in UK history

news.met.police.uk

1 11 29

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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 7d

⚖️ This week the Serious Fraud Office defends its biggest ever account forfeiture order, as ex-Petrobras exec Mario de Miranda looks to keep $7.7 million in a high-stakes battle with significant implications for the UK’s asset recovery efforts.

An investigator wearing a stab vest marked Serious Fraud Office

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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 7d

👀 We’ll keep a close eye on how this develops. In the meantime, take a look at our anti-corruption enforcement tracker if you want to stay on top of key trends:

Anti-Corruption Enforcement Tracker - Spotlight on Corruption

Welcome to the anti-corruption enforcement tracker

www.spotlightcorruption.org

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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 7d

‼️Although this may be the SFO’s biggest forfeiture from a single bank account, there is much more than money at stake. If the court puts forfeiture on hold until all appeals in Brazil are concluded, this could have a major impact on the UK’s international asset recovery efforts in future.

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