The Wreckage - Michael Robotham [149]
“Going where?” Ruiz asks.
“Into Mersey Fidelity and then out again.”
“How much?”
“Close to three billion dollars.”
Gooding: “How could they keep amounts like that off the books? Surely it has to show up somewhere.”
Daniela points to another note she’s made. “Here is where it gets even more interesting. Most of these non-published accounts were opened in the morning, used for a transaction and closed in the afternoon. The only person who would know about that transaction is the guy who gave the order. The auditor won’t see the account because it existed for less than twenty-four hours.
“Look at this unpublished account, No. 3625. The bank that opened it is in Lugarno, Switzerland, but the final destination of the funds was a company registered in the Bahamas. See the name: Bellwether Construction. It was the company that won a contract to rebuild Jawad Stadium in Baghdad. The work was never done.”
“Where does Richard North come into this?” asks Ruiz.
“He was the compliance officer,” says Luca. “It was his job to report any suspicious transactions, no matter how small.”
“Why would he risk keeping a notebook?”
“Someone had to have the codes. My guess is they weren’t digitalized because that creates a record that is difficult to wipe from a computer hard drive.”
Ruiz wants to be clear. “So this is money-laundering?”
“Money-laundering, tax evasion, insider trading… on a massive scale,” says Daniela. “The notebook reveals more than two thousand ghost accounts in fifty countries.”
“Can we see where the money was going?” asks Gooding.
Luca takes over. “We can trace the transfers to offshore banks, but we need more time to locate the end-user. I think Richard North was researching some of the transactions. Elizabeth North found a file that her husband had hidden. We’ve been matching some of the account numbers to the transactions he circled and grouped together. Once money has entered the European banking system it can be wired and withdrawn anywhere without any controls. Members of terrorist groups can be using ATM machines to access cash, just like the 9/11 hijackers did. It was the same in Bali and Madrid before the bombings.
“Look at this,” Luca points to the computer screen. “North identified a bank in Madrid and another in Bali. They’re the same banks the bombers withdrew funds from.”
“Are they the same accounts?” asks Gooding.
“That’s what we need to find out. We have to trace each transaction.”
“Which could take us months.”
Holly has woken and come looking for food. Ignoring the conversation, she picks up a croissant and pulls it apart with her fingers. Pastry sticks to her nails and she sucks them clean, almost purring like a cat.
She’s watching the TV above her head, Sky News, a Bambi-eyed newsreader sternly reading an autocue. The headlines are running as a banner across the bottom of the screen.
“This is huge,” says Gooding. “Money-laundering. Tax avoidance. Terrorism. Mersey Fidelity was being touted as the beacon of the new banking system. It’s supposed to provide the Bank of England with a blueprint for new banking laws.” He looks at Luca. “Who knew at the bank?”
“It could go right to the top.”
“They’ll deny it.”
“Or destroy any incriminating evidence.”
“We can’t publish this without independent verification. We need someone from Mersey Fidelity to go on the record.”
“Someone senior.”
Ruiz marvels at the strange light in both the journalists’ eyes, like they’ve discovered the Holy Grail