Written question asked by Austin Mitchell (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 February 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 9 February 2006. It was answered by Ivan Lewis (Labour) on Monday, 13 February 2006 on behalf of the Treasury.

Money Laundering

Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Financial Services Authority's press release of 8 March 2001, (1) if he will list the UK banks which laundered money for the former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha; and how much money was handled by each bank;

Answer: The handling of accounts linked to the late General Abacha or to General Pinochet by banks in the United Kingdom is a regulatory matter, responsibility for which lies with the Financial Services Authority, and the financial regulatory authorities on each Crown Dependency.HM Treasury and the Governments of the Crown Dependencies are responsible for the overarching framework of legislation and guidance in relation to money laundering, which has been subject to a wide ranging modernisation programme to safeguard the integrity of the financial services sector.

Secondary information