Men from North Finchley and Southgate were among 13 arrested as HM Revenue and Customs seized £1.5 million in money laundering raids.

A total of 150 officers from HMRC executed 28 warrants across London, Bedfordshire, Wiltshire, Kent, County Armagh and Deeside, and arrested eleven men and two women on June 26 on suspicion of laundering tens of millions of pounds.

Officers also seized four high-value cars, worth approximately £400,000, and were granted orders to freeze nine bank accounts containing a total of £520,000.

HMRC Fraud investigation director Simon York said: “Money laundering and the organised crime it supports is hugely harmful to businesses, citizens and society as a whole. That is why it is a priority for HMRC and this large scale operation demonstrates we will not hesitate to investigate those suspected of being involved.

“We are determined to cut off the funds that are the lifeblood of serious crime in the UK and in the last year alone, HMRC has recovered more than £192 million of illicit proceeds using its civil and criminal proceeds of crime powers.

"Tax crime and money laundering deprive public services of vital funds and I would urge anyone with information on this type of fraud to report it to HMRC online, or call our fraud hotline on 0800 788 887.”

• A 37 year old man from and a 31 year old woman from two addresses in Bedford,

Bedfordshire

• A 54 year old man from Flitwick, Bedfordshire

• A 20 year old woman from Dunstable, Bedfordshire

• A 27 year old man from Swindon, Wiltshire

• A 47 year old man from Shotton, Deeside

• A 47 year old man from north Finchley, London

• A 54 year old man from Southgate, London

• A 51 year old man from Queens Park, London

• A 42 year old man from Hackney, London

• A 38 year old man from County Armagh

• A 34 year old man from Beckenham, Kent

• A 35 year of man from Ashford, Kent

All those arrested on June 26 were questioned by HMRC and have been released pending further enquiries. Investigations are ongoing.

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