Nicola Sturgeon pressed the UK Government to shut down money-laundering firms in 2018 but the Ferret won’t tell you that

I’ll explain the above after this:

In the Ferret today, the above, and:

Hey there,

Jamie here, along with financial crime investigator Diogo Augusto.

It’s great when a government decides to tackle abuses made possible by its own legislation – less so when, more than a year after promising reform, it still can’t give a firm date for implementing it.

In this case, the reforms are compulsory ID-checks for the owners of a type of Scottish entity that’s become notorious for abuse by money launderers and other international criminals – individuals who certainly wouldn’t be keen to reveal themselves.

Implementing new security measures of course takes time, and yet, the owners and controllers of many other types of UK firms that haven’t earned such an illicit reputation are due to face a deadline for ID checks imminently.

Anti-corruption campaigners say this delay leaves a “weak link” in the government’s crackdown. Meanwhile, Diogo also took a forensic look at the ID check process, which raises further questions about whether it’s fit for purpose.

The owners of a type of Scottish company linked to a deluge of financial crime will remain exempt from mandatory identity checks for the foreseeable future, even after other UK businesses are forced to comply.

Who is to blame here? There is a clear implication that the fault here lies with the Scottish Government, isn’t there? Some readers will know that such law is not devolved and that this must be criticising the UK Government but in using ‘a government’ and ‘the government’ without a wee ‘UK‘ for clarification, and referring to ‘Scottish entity’ and ‘Scottish company’, many, most (?) readers will think it’s the Scottish Government delaying the change through their incompetence.

I know, I know, they don’t say that directly but in their quite wordy, 1 600 plus, piece, there is not one mention of ‘Scottish Government’, Nicola Sturgeon’, nor, of course of these: