Money laundering: a cautionary tale

Oxana Zubakova is a Russian model and entrepreneur.  It is reported that she has recently failed in a bid to recover money and jewellery siezed by the police, having thus far taken her case to the Court of Appeal.  She intends to continue her case.

It appears that in 2008 the police raided a deposit box which was in the joint names of Miss Zubakova and an ex-boyfriend, Tarik Meghrabi.  The police took a large sum of money in banknotes, which apparently is permitted by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.  Miss Zubakova began legal action to recover the money, but the following year police raided her home and took her computer.  They also blocked her bank cards.

Miss Zubakova then returned to Russia, although it is not clear how she managed to afford the airline ticket given that her bank cards had been blocked.  Tarik Meghrabi has since been jailed for money laundering.

This is not the first case I have come across where the police have blocked someone's bank cards.  Is there a law requiring the police to ensure that people still have enough money for subsistence?

It is fair to point out however that there is a need to tackle money laundering, and the police cannot be expected never to pursue the wrong suspect.  While I am critical of the banks, I am aware that banks are an important, partly because of the transparency of transactions.  Money held in a bank account is money that is documented to exist.  Transactions between bank accounts are likewise documented.

Money held in bank accounts might have been laundered at some point, but money laundering normally involves a non-bank transaction somewhere along the line.  This could take the form of a cash payment, or else the handing over of valuable items such as jewellery.

Miss Zubakova claims that reliance upon cash is an important aspect of her Russian culture, and it was an important aspect of British culture until fairly recently.  It was still common in the 1980s for some British workers to be paid weekly in cash.

If you do not want to fall foul of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, then take care with your finances.  Do not hoard cash, try to avoid large scale cash transactions, and do not share deposit boxes or bank accounts or credit cards with anyone else.