LEICESTER – UK fashion retailers Select Fashion and Boohoo have been linked to a multi-million pound money laundering network in Leicester. An investigation by the BBC uncovered a complex system of fraud in shell companies as well as fake invoices being used by suppliers with links to the fashion retailers.
Rumours of money-laundering in Leicester’s apparel supply chains have been around for years. The Chair of the UK Government’s Public Accounts Committee says the latest findings could be the “tip of the iceberg.”
Earlier this year, Andrew Bridgen, a UK Member of Parliament for the constituency of North West Leicestershire, told Apparel Insider there has been a selective implementation of the law in Leicester’s garment industry, large parts of which “have been allowed to operate without the kind of normal oversight and regulation we expect of businesses in the UK. At best this is a systematic failure of regulations and protections for people working in the industry.”
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