Fears are growing that Scotland may be becoming a magnet for money-launderers following allegations linking shell companies there to a $1bn (£634m) fraud in the ex-Soviet republic of Moldova.

The swindle allegedly emptied three of Moldova's leading banks of almost all their funds.
Investigators say a key role was played by firms registered in Scotland. The case has highlighted a huge rise there in limited partnerships, whose ownership is often opaque. The report by the international investigation agency Kroll identified 20 UK LPs as allegedly involved in the complex fraud. All but one of them are in Scotland. One - which is now said to be owed the $1bn - is registered along with 420 other companies in a flat in a run-down part of Edinburgh. Others are said to be involved share an address with more than 3,400 other companies nearby.

Opaque companies

Limited partnerships involve a company structure which has few reporting requirements and whose ownership is often opaque. The number of limited partnerships in Scotland has more than doubled, from 6,117 in 2009-10 to 14,598 in 2013-14. That's now more than the number in England and Wales. Many are legitimate businesses. But there are concerns about transparency, because most are concentrated at a small number of accommodation addresses, and belong to companies in offshore tax havens.....Read more here