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Here are the top 10 countries where British criminals launder their money

Oscar Williams-Grut   

Here are the top 10 countries where British criminals launder their money
Finance1 min read

Paramilitary policemen take off U.S. dollars strapped around a man's legs, at the border of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, Guangdong province, April 24, 2014. According to local media, the man was found trying to smuggle in total US$580,000 from the mainland to Hong Kong. Picture taken April 24, 2014.

REUTERS/China Dail

Paramilitary policemen take off U.S. dollars strapped around a man's legs, at the border of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, Guangdong province, April 24, 2014.

If a criminal wants to enjoy their illegally acquired wealth, they first have to "launder" the money - creating a fake paper trail to disguise where they got it from.

Often people will take money abroad to do this, hoping that the cross-border aspect will make it harder to trace. A recent report from the UK government identified the top 10 countries British criminals turn to when they want to clean their cash, based on 5 years worth of criminal assets recovered from abroad.

The combined criminal assets recovered are worth over £600 million but the Treasury says: "The true figure will be significantly higher, as this figure only includes identified assets linked to offenders who have been convicted and had a confiscation order made against them. It does not take account of any assets linked to offenders who have escaped detection or conviction."

Check out the hot money hotspots below.

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