this is bbc news. the headlines at seven... leaked documents reveal how some uk banks have allowed criminals and money launderers to move billions of pounds around the world. the government says the country is at a tipping point, and warns restrictions could be tightened — as thousands more cases are recorded. if everybody follows the rules then we can avoid further national lockdowns. but we, of course, have to be prepared to take action if that is what is necessary. the labour leader says sorting out the problems with testing should be ministers' top priority. if i was the prime minister, i would apologise for the fact that we are in this situation with testing. throughout the summer, we were saying prepare for the autumn.

instead, we had the exams fiasco. and a flypast over central london marks the 80th anniversary of the battle of britain, following a memorial service at westminster abbey. and mark kermode takes a look at this week's cinema releases in the film reviews. that is in half an hour here on bbc news. hello and welcome to bbc news. leaked documents have revealed how some uk banks have helped criminals, money launderers and russians under sanctions — and have also failed to stop crime when they suspected it.

the documents 7 known as the fincen files 7 were leaked to buzzfeed news and shared with the bbc by the international consortium of investigativejournalists. they indicate that london is a hub for money laundering 7 with billions of pounds worth of suspected dirty money moving through the system. richard bilton reports. most of his body was submerged under water. the files show the reality of fraud. it can be a messy business. he was bound. he had coverings over his face. you knew that he was deceased. raymond's body was found in a vineyard, and this is the dream that cost him his life. world capital market is managed by a team of experts... he was taken in by a scam. to make money, he needed to recruit other investors. when they lost money, he was murdered. ..asia and europe...

he was a victim in a scheme. he was a victim in a homicide. just a true, true victim. thousands lost money in the scam. the fraudsters stole $80 million. we have discovered that britain's biggest bank helped them get away with it. hsbc allowed the fraudsters to move the stolen cash around the world, even after the bank had been told it was a scam. the us part of the bank said it was unable to locate any accounts with the information stated on the subpoena. what hsbc did not tell the regulator is that those accounts were in another country. the bank then carried on moving more than $30 million of stolen cash from the uk and us to the fraudsters' hsbc accounts in hong kong. so they had the information. they sat on it. that is when they were just as guilty as the fraudsters in perpetuating the scheme.

they knew about it and did nothing about it. hsbc did not comment on the fraud case but said it has been on a multi—yearjourney to overhaul its ability to combat financial crime. but the files show the secret story is that banks often don't stop crime and suspect behaviour. the leak is of suspicious activity reports — what banks have to tell the authorities if they think their clients may be up to no good. these documents contain some of the banking system's most closely guarded secrets — the suspicions big banks have about their wealthiest clients. and they show how the system has failed to stop criminals from laundering their cash. because banks have to send the reports but they don't always act on them. this is an unprecedented and remarkable leak that tells us, as never before, what the banks know

about suspicious money movements. there has never been a leak like it before. the secret reports show the way banks have really been behaving, placing the uk at the heart of global money—laundering. richard bilton, bbc news. our economics correspondent andy verity explained how british banks were implicated by the leaked documents. he was speaking to my colleague rebecca jones. a senate committee published a devastating report about hsbc, saying it was being used as a conduit for drug kingpins and rogue nations. specifically, the spectacular fellows of oversight had led the bank to commit that a drug launderers to launder drug money, not just any drug launderers to launder drug money, notjust any drug traffickers, this was a cartel made famous in the netflix series el chapo. a really

serious problem. theyjust got off prosecution for that and we only found out four years later, in 2016, that george osborne, the then chancellor, had intervened on their behalf, seeking to help them avoid criminal prosecution. saying that if they were prosecuted and might prevent threats to national stability. financial stability. they had a five year probation period where they had to keep their nose clea n, where they had to keep their nose clean, and yet, we found out from this week that this stuff was going on in that period. there is a lot more to this than just one bank? hsbc is by no means the only bank singled out here. these are suspicious activity reports from banks around the world. they are obliged under anti—money laundering regulations to say when they see any sign of suspicious activity, when for example they do not know where the money is coming from. u nfortu nately, the money is coming from. unfortunately, the uk does appear to be at the centre of this. more than 3000 companies in these reports are british companies, that is more than

any other country. we have a problem here, as well, with anonymity. the way things are you can set up companies you're quite easily and nominate someone companies you're quite easily and nominate someone else is the director and tighter control of that money. in some cases, you have got accou nts money. in some cases, you have got accounts saying turnover is £23,000 and hundreds of millions of dollars are passing through these same companies. there are growing calls for the government to do something about a relax money—laundering controls. we know from the files that a secret us intelligence report has described as, the uk, as a high—riskjurisdiction on the same level as cyprus. not what we are used to. that was andy verity. tom keatinge is director of the centre for financial crime and security studies at rusi and briefed on the broad outlines of the fincen story. he was an investment banker atjp morgan for 20 years rebecca jones has been speaking to him.

the suspicious activity report regime is the fundamental pillar on which anti—money laundering efforts are meant to be founded and it was created 25 years ago, and in many ways we are still using the same system as we had 25 years ago. the problem is that you and i can transfer money at the tap of a app, but the system was created when it took four or five days to transfer money around the world, so there was time for banks to study whose money is going where. nowadays, that is very challenging. what constitutes suspicious activity? there are a whole range of reasons. if you go home this evening and you send £9,000 to three different friends, that might be suspicious. why did you do three £9,000 transactions in half an hour? maybe it is money coming to you from a company where the ownership is not clear. there are a huge array of reasons that a bank might consider something suspicious, but it is only suspicious and herein

lies the problem. the banks then file that with the financial intelligence unit, the national crime agency in the uk. and what is the agency meant to do with that deluge of data it is receiving7 we do not have the systems to respond to the date on the banks are filing, if indeed they do file the right data. that is interesting you use the word deluge. because i was going to ask you what does this tell us about the regulatory system and how capable it is dealing with the problem? they receive half a million suspicious activity reports every year, and so i think we have to continue asking, as the government is doing, questions about our ability to deal with that level of data. it is notjust the uk, of course. the uk is a global financial centre, we have a global responsibility, notjust domestically, and honestly it remains the case that our ability to shoulder that burden,

as that amount about the us indicates, our ability to shoulder that burden is substandard. how would you expect a law enforcement agencies to use these suspicious activity reports7 there are two ways. if one comes in and it is like terrorism, you would expect them to respond immediately. or perhaps human trafficking, respond immediately. but otherwise they get filed away in a database with millions of other reports. in the uk, police forces can query the database as part of an investigation into some future criminal case that they are looking at. it serves... it should serve both an immediate flag and also a useful database for future use, but the extent to which the system is used effectively, not just in the uk but around the world, has to be open to question. the one thing i hope about this leak is that we finally get a grip of a system which, as i say, was built in the 1980s and 1990s and simply does not work,

is not fit for purpose in the 21st century. why does it appear that the uk is so vulnerable and what can be done about that? the uk is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, financial centre in the world. inevitably, a lot of money flows through the uk and the way that it does. secondly, the uk has big global banks, it has excellent law firms, it has real estate to invest your money on. i like to put it this way, if you go to the money—laundering superstore, you head straight for the aisle marked uk because you can get all the tools you could possibly need there. and we do have some lax systems. it has been called to be reformed, and that consultation, the details of that consultation were just published at the end of last week. we have a long way to go, and fundamentally in the uk, we are trying to make up for a couple of decades of underinvestment. you cannot do that overnight,

however hard you try. that was tom keatinge. you can see the full panorama programme. that's in panorama s banking secrets of the rich and powerful at 7 o clock tomorrow night. the health secretary matt hancock says further national lockdowns cannot be ruled out if people fail to follow the rules on tackling coronavirus. he was speaking amid growing concern at the rise in the number of infections in the uk. yesterday, fines of up to £10,000 were announced for those who repeatedly fail to self—isolate if they test positive. labour said the government's test and trace system was ‘near collapse'. latest government figures show there have been 3,899 positive coronavirus tests in the uk in the latest 2a hour period. 18 additional deaths have been reported, of those who have died

within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. 0ur political correspondent iain watson reports. when it comes to complying with rules and restrictions, the government says we are more lax than some of our continental counterparts, so as coronavirus cases increase, expect to hear tougher messages on enforcement. the health secretary says we are at tipping point. if everybody follows the rules then we can avoid further national lockdowns, but of course, we have to be prepared to take action if that is what is necessary. so we might be facing a further national lockdown if people don't obey the rules? that is exactly right. i don't rule it out. i don't want to see it. in just over a week from now on england, if you don't self—isolate when you should, you could face an initial fine of £1000, and up to £10,000. the health secretary says we should

tell the police if we see rule breakers but in london, not everyone will take that advice. that whole thing of telling on your neighbour, i think, breaking up community is the last thing that should be encouraged. if there is a hefty fine in place or something like that, people would maybe toe the line a bit better. this weekend, the prime minister is under pressure from medical and scientific advisers to take stronger, swifter action to slow the spread of the virus. the prime minister has been in top—level meetings to discuss his options, but he is also under pressure from his next—door neighbour, the chancellor, who does not want to see a fragile economic recovery killed off. so it is likely that we will see new, temporary measures across england, but that these will also fall far short of a full national lockdown. while schools and workplaces are likely to remain open, some of the restrictions imposed in local lockdowns seem set to spread across england. at the 212 cafe and bar in leeds, there is no enthusiasm

for a possible curfew. put a ten o'clock curfew, most bars will probably decide not to open back up because the trade won't be worth it for the late night venues. but also, it could work in a different way where all of the students and people go out through the day, the bars take the same amount of money but obviously, it willjust cause trouble through the day rather than the night. labour say they will support whatever new steps the government takes, but... if i was the prime minister, i would apologise for the fact that we are in this situation with testing. throughout the summer, we were saying, prepare for the autumn. instead, we had the exams fiasco. i would make fixing testing the number one priority and reinstate the daily press conferences so we all know what is going on. the prime minister will upset some of his own mps if he introduces further restrictions. he is looking at a range of options, but doing nothing does not seem to be one of them. iain watson, bbc news. meanwhile, ministers are closely

watching covid cases elsewhere in europe, and the measures taken in other countries. our health correspondent catherine burns reports. before this year, pictures like this mostly belong to science fiction films, not the news, but over the spring time, we got used to seeing health workers wearing protective equipment to care for coronavirus patients in intensive care. this footage, though, is from a few days ago in france. in spain, this neighbourhood of madrid and many others will go back into lockdown tomorrow. people are concerned. i think there is an awareness or a realisation that we relaxed too much, as many other countries did. the question is, how do we compare to other countries across europe? over the last fortnight, if you look at cases for every 100,000 people, spain is on the highest at around 300. france is approaching 200. belgium and the netherlands are just over 100 and we are lower than that on 69 cases

for every 100,000 people. but other countries are much lower still. italy, sweden and germany are allaround 30, and cyprus isjust under ten. so the uk is that neither extreme but the government is still watching the trends. i am not in this for a popularity contest. i am in this to keep the country safe. the concern is, as cases start to rise, that will be followed by an increase in deaths, too. let's again take spain as an example. you can see that cases started to rise more sharply since the start of last month. there is an uptick in deaths, too, but it is much more gradual at this point. so far in the uk, the number of deaths being reported is still relatively low. but there tends to be a two or three week lag in the worst cases, from somebody getting infected, slowly getting more sick, to eventually dying. empty streets in antwerp after a curfew was brought in this summer. the government likes to point to belgium as a more hopeful

comparison, and stricter measures did seem to work there. but numbers are now starting to rise. we should not seize one particular country but we should apply best practice from a number of different places. the key thing is we need to act now. we need to take action to reduce social mixing and introduce other measures to avoid more avoidable deaths in the weeks and months to come. right now, just as in the spring, we are potentially a few weeks behind other countries with growing outbreaks in europe. the hope is that this time, we have learned the lessons about how not to follow in their footsteps. catherine burns, bbc news. we will find out how this story and many others are being covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30pm and 11:30pm this evening in the papers. the reviewers join and 11:30pm this evening in the papers. the reviewersjoin me tonight, the political commentator and former conservative party press chief, and the chief executive of

the think tank polly mckenzie. i hope you join us for that. anti—government protesters in thailand have installed a plaque near bangkok's grand palace proclaiming that the country belongs to the people and not the monarch. protests calling for the resignation of the government and reform of the monarchy have been continuing. 0ur correspondent jonathan head reports. they had camped overnight under the shadow of the old palace. protesters of all ages from the city and the countryside with a message for the government, the military and the king. they want sweeping changes to how power and resources are allocated in thailand. here, in what you might call king vajiralongkorn's backyard, they laid a brass plaque with an inscription that the country belonged to the people, not the monarch. theyjoined in singing the national anthem.

we are patriotic, they say, not nation haters, an accusation made by some royalists. but their hunger games salute has become a potent symbol of dissent in one of the world's most unequal societies. they have been allowed to occupy this park, site of the most illustrious royal ceremonies, but as the protest moved towards the grand palace, they found their way blocked by the police. 22—year—old student panusaya sithijirawatta na kul, who last month stunned thailand by reading of a ten—point manifesto for royal reform, was left to deliver her letter, addressed to the king, to the police commander with instructions to pass it on. the party—like atmosphere we have seen here belies the seriousness of the challenge that these protesters are throwing down to the monarchy, notjust the occupation of one of the most important royal sites here in bangkok,

but also some of the critical comments made about king vajiralongkorn from the stage. stronger than anything i think most thais have heard said in public before. what we cannot guess yet is how the palace and the authorities are going to react. in the two months since these protests began, they have transformed the political debate in thailand, saying things once thought unsayable. there is an understandable sense of elation in watching taboos being broken, but there are plenty of risks, too, when a near sacred institution is confronted and questioned like this for the first time. jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok. business leaders are urging the chancellor to withdraw tax—free shopping for international visitors, claiming 70,000 retailjobs could be

lost. the association of international retail along with the bosses of marks & spencer, said the decision is short—sighted and devastating. around three 5p are spent in the uk every year on tax—free shopping —— back 5p. it will discourage shoppers from wealthy asian nations from spending their money in the uk. president trump has said his nominee to replace ruth bayder ginsberg on the us supreme court will be a woman, and he'll make the announcement next week. justice ginsberg died on friday, triggering a debate over whether her replacement should be announced before, or after, november's presidential election. paul hawkins reports. america's election in a microcosm. a divided nation, liberals vs conservatives, arguing over what's important, and now who gets to decide. replacing the latejustice ginsburg on america's top court was never

going to be straightforward in the run—up to november's vote. but now we know a little bit more about the president's pick to replace her. it will be a woman, a very talented, very brilliant woman. applause. who i haven't chosen yet, but we have numerous women on the list. but these are the two favourites. amy coney barrett on the left and barbara lagoa on the right, both highly respected by the president, who nominated both to the lower circuits. either would become the youngest serving justice on america's top court. barbara lagoa, a cuban—american, the first hispanic judge on florida's supreme court. amy coney barrett, meanwhile, is a favourite of religious conservatives, known for her anti—abortion views. she also said thatjudges should not be strictly bound by supreme court precedents, so she could vote to overturn roe v wade, the landmark decision that gave women the right to choose. and then there is the question

of when the republican—controlled senate should vote to confirm the nominee — before the election, or after. the democrats have started to threaten that if they win the senate and already control the congress and win the white house, than if the republicans play dirty then they are going to vote to expand the supreme court and add two more seats which would give biden two more nominations. but if the president's choice is installed before the election then the nine—judge supreme court would have six conservatives and three liberals, meaning a strongly conservative interpretation of the constitution on big issues like abortion and gun control and civil rights. paul hawkins, bbc news. a usjudge has blocked president trump's order to ban the chinese communication app, wechat, which was set to come into effect today. wechat is a messaging, social media and mobile payment app with over a billion monthly users. president trump issued an executive order

against wechat last month, claiming national security concerns. but the judge said the ban raised serious questions related to the constitution's first amendment — which guarantees free speech. president trump says he's approved — in principle — a deal that would allow the chinese owned video sharing app — tiktok — to continue to be available in the united states. the president has regarded tik tok as a security risk and threatened to ban it. now two american companies — oracle and walmart — will go into partnership with tiktok. the details are expected to be finalised over the next week one person is missing and dozens have been forced to leave their homes after torrential rain hit the south of france. as much as 35 centimetres of rain fell in parts of the gard region, near the cote d'azur.

helicopters have carried out two rescue missions and around 200 people were moved to safety from two villages. a memorial service marking 80 years since the battle of britain has been held at westminster abbey. the battle was a dramatic turning point in world war ii when 1500 pilots and aircrew lost their lives fighting the german airforce. today's service was the abbey's first major event since lockdown although fewer than 100 guests attended. sarah campbell reports. the sights and sounds of 1914 as three spitfires and a hurricane flew over london today. 80 years ago, the sta kes over london today. 80 years ago, the stakes could not have been higher. sir winston churchill famously called the young pilots the few. hurricanes and spitfires roar into

action. it was the first time a major military battle was fought in the air. the nazis's plan was to overwhelm the allied air defences and then launch a full invasion. their plan failed. today, the prime minister arrived at westminster abbey to remember those who fought so courageously. along with the leader of the opposition, all in masks, in this, the first major service to have taken place at the abbey since lockdown began in march. more than 2000 people would usually attend the service of remembrance, which has been held here every year since 1944. the pandemic meant numbers were restricted to fewer than 100 with no veterans present. however, their legacy and what they achieved against the odds lives on. some events, some people, are not just significant, they are pivotal. the battle of britain was one of

those pivotal events, and likewise, those pivotal events, and likewise, those who served in it. our friends from other nations, those working on the ground, our families at home, every one of them. carried through the abbey, the battle of britain roll of honour, which bears the names of the 1497 pilots and aircrew who made the ultimate sacrifice. as the service ended, the raf‘s aerial tribute. the heroism of those who took to the skies 80 years ago remembered. sarah campbell, bbc news. we are just going to bring you some breaking news. the latest concerning the coronavirus. the mayor of london is reported to have

said that the situation is clearly worsening and he will be meeting council leaders tomorrow. this is all confirmed by his spokesperson. meeting council leaders tomorrow for any london specific measures, which will be recommended to ministers following that. the spokesperson goes on to say that the mayor wants fast action, as we cannot risk a delay, as happened in march. it is better for both health and business to move to an early rather than too late. that coming from the mayor of london, reported to us via the newswi res. now it is time for the weather. this week felt like summer with temperatures as high as 25 degrees will stop a slightly different story today. low cloud, mrand mark slightly different story today. low cloud, mr and mark lingered for quite awhile. as we go through tonight, that cloud should retreat back out into the north sea. the

skies should clear here. it will stay quite cloudy in the far north—west of scotland and we could see a few fog patches further south across the midlands, east wales, toward southern england. some of that for could lingerfor toward southern england. some of that for could linger for a time tomorrow morning. it will clear up for many places and for many places is sunny. sunny today across north—east england and south—east scotland. 20 degrees in newcastle. mcleod feeding into northern ireland and western scotland. it will be a bit cooler, 16 for belfast and glasgow. as we look ahead, some big changes to come through the week. it earns much more autumnal, much cooler and we will see some outbreaks of rain and brisk winds at times. hello this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines: leaked documents reveal how some uk banks have allowed criminals and money launderers to move billions of pounds around the world.