this is bbc news. the headlines: ukraine has accused moscow of stealing grain, claiming a russian—flagged ship left the russian—occupied port of berdyansk with a cargo of seed. grain shipments from black sea ports have been blocked by russian troops for months, causing concern over hunger in many parts of the world. google says it'll start automatically deleting tracking data which logs people's visits to abortion clinics, domestic violence shelters, and other potentially sensitive locations. it comes after the us supreme court's decision to remove a woman's constitutional right to an abortion. top racing driver, sir lewis hamilton is calling for a change in attitude in formula one after a former champion used a racially offensive term when referring to him. mr hamilton said what he called "older voices" should not

being given a platform in the media. those are your latest headlines. now on bbc news, from russia with blood. are legal loopholes allowing russian criminals to launder dirty money? jim fitzpatrick follows the cash. money isjust like money is just like clothes. the dirtier it gets, the more it needs washing. and, there is a

lot of dirty money in the world. an estimated 2 trillion in us dollars gets washed each year. but, money laundering is no domestic chore. it is the economic engine of terrorism and drugs trade. , dictatorship and drugs trade. , dictatorship and war. , , and war. kyiv is feeling the pressure — and war. kyiv is feeling the pressure of _ and war. kyiv is feeling the pressure of the _ and war. kyiv is feeling the pressure of the war. - pressure of the war. and where do international criminals go when the need the money cleaned? recently, it has often been at northern ireland. it is thanks to a secret little northern ireland companies that allow criminals across the world to make a clean killing.

they are called northern ireland limited partnerships. they can be set up in secret and in seconds from anywhere in the world. peter geoghegan runs an investigative journalism project, open democracy. it is quite remarkable, you don't even need to find out when northern ireland is on a map. you could be thousands of miles away, you can do it online. you pay quite a small amount of money and pretty quickly you have got yourself an nilp and you can pretty much do whatever you want with it. can we say with some certainty that these entities are being used for criminal activity? northern ireland limited partnerships were named in a huge fraud that took praise from the moldovan government, one of most famous frauds in the world were a seventh of the national budget of that country was siphoned off. we found evidence in open democracy and our reporting of previous examples of money launderers

and others using nilps, so there is a history there, not surprising because they are perfect for criminals who wanted to do things like that. limited partnerships can have legitimate purposes, but to prevent money laundering, rules and the rest of the uk were tightened to make who owned them a clear, but not in northern ireland where it can still be secret. places like belfast have seen a new boom in activity. in thes. belfast st just one address that up to 100 limited partnerships registered. with no easy way of knowing who owned them or what they are doing with them. accept, sometimes when they turn up in legal cases. such is one limited partnership

registered in elmwood avenue, belfast, but accused of being part of a massive multimillion dollar green fort in ukraine. —— green fort. the local mp can't understand why northern ireland was left open to such abuse when walls were tightened elsewhere such as scotland. i do find it quite curious that the northern ireland limited partnership s were close there and not yet northern ireland, as there was demand in scotland to close it down, because they knew it was having negative impacts for many people and no benefits. it is an amazing trip, really. foreign criminals don't come here, but northern ireland provides the clean wrappers for their dirty money by selling them shiny little companies with northern ireland addresses, and the stamp of a respected uk legal framework, enabling criminals to open bank accounts elsewhere in the world where they can put their

ill—gotten gains. at first glance, it is no longer criminal money, it is an ap money. the northern ireland laundromat has spun its magic. —— and lap thank you very much, mr deputy speaker. i very much support... and mp involved in closing the scottish loophole is also surprised that wilson northern ireland were left open for abuse. but, it is opening up coming economic wandal and northern ireland will be the opportunity to stop it. i hope that my colleagues _ opportunity to stop it. i hope that my colleagues northern| that my colleagues northern ireland from where ever they come from the political spectrum willjoin with me in it that drive to root out dirty money from the uk. it doesn't do us any good, it doesn't do northern ireland any good, and

it won't help in the long—term to create prosperity and economic growth. a government spokesperson confirmed that the law on limited partnerships will be governed under that they are coming forward at economic crime bill. campaigners say it is the war in ukraine that has finally prompted tough action on dirty money. while the russians accused of propping up the putin regime are having their assets seized. dirty money, now synonymous with death and destruction. to find that we are at the heart of russian dirty money, i think isjust heart of russian dirty money, i think is just unacceptable to

everybody. think isjust unacceptable to everybody-— think isjust unacceptable to eve bod. �* ., everybody. authorities across the world. — everybody. authorities across the world, including - everybody. authorities across the world, including the - everybody. authorities across the world, including the us, i everybody. authorities across l the world, including the us, eu and uk moved quickly to sanction the russian regime and individuals who have benefited from it. ,, ., individuals who have benefited from it. , , ., ., ., from it. the russian owner of chelsea football _ from it. the russian owner of chelsea football club, - from it. the russian owner of chelsea football club, roman | chelsea football club, roman abramovich, is another of seven people hit with sanctions because of their suspected close links to president putin. and those laws targeting oligarchs were named in memory of a russian lawyer called sergei magnitsky. killed by putin's regime. and are largely due to the work of the man who had hired him. in due to the work of the man who had hired him.— had hired him. in my opinion, any retraction _ had hired him. in my opinion, any retraction is _ had hired him. in my opinion, any retraction is only - had hired him. in my opinion, any retraction is only rich - any retraction is only rich because they are allowed to be rich under the permission of vladimir putin. anyone who has

challenged him has found themselves in jail, challenged him has found themselves injail, poor or dead, and so i don't believe that there is any such thing as a good oligarch. fist that there is any such thing as a good oligarch.— a good oligarch. at one time, his capital— a good oligarch. at one time, his capital fund _ a good oligarch. at one time, his capital fund was _ a good oligarch. at one time, his capital fund was the - his capital fund was the biggest foreign investor in russia. but, he made powerful enemies. he was expelled from the country in 2005 his later companies were later raided by police and key documents stolen. his lawyer in moscow, sergei magnitsky, discovered the readers had used the documents to steal his companies, and then claim a bogus $230 million tax refund. it was a record that, ultimately from the russian people. i ultimately from the russian eo - le. ., people. i went to the newspapers, - people. i went to the newspapers, tv, - people. i went to the i newspapers, tv, radio. people. i went to the - newspapers, tv, radio. we people. i went to the _ newspapers, tv, radio. we had sworn witness statements from

sergei magnitsky. we sat back and waited for the good guys to get the bad guys. turns out, in a putin's russia, there are no good guys. the officials that sergei magnitsky had testified against returned and arrested him. they put them in pre—trial detention and then he was tortured to withdraw his testimony. they put him in cells with no heat, no windowpanes, in december in moscow where he nearly froze to death. they put them in a cell with no toilet, just a hole in the floor. they would move him from cell to cell in the middle of the night, they wanted him to withdraw his testimony from a corrupt police officers and design a false confession to say he stole the $230 million, and did so under my instruction. certainly a man of

incredible integrity, and the idea of him pleasuring himself a bearing witness, was more harmful than the physical pain he was being subjected to, he just refused. they ratcheted up and up and i'm, the torture and the pressure, until his health started to fail. after a year of torture in a maximum security prison, his health went into a critical condition. again, medical treatment was denied. instead of putting him in an emergency room, he was put in an isolation cell, chained to a bed, and right sergei magnitsky —— right cards beat sergei magnitsky to death. he died at the age of 37, leaving a wife and two children. the russian

government — and two children. the russian government has _ and two children. the russian government has claimed - and two children. the russian | government has claimed sergei magnitsky died of heart failure bill browder believes it was murder and is bill browder believes it was murderand is up bill browder believes it was murder and is up forjustice. for the past few years i have put aside my life as a businessman and devoted all of my time, all my energy and resources to find the people who killed sergei.— who killed sergei. over the last decade, _ who killed sergei. over the last decade, bill— who killed sergei. over the last decade, bill browder l who killed sergei. over the l last decade, bill browder has tracked the $230 million stolen from the russian people, his friend sergei had exposed. it is laid out in meticulous detail in thousands of pages of documents he has shared with spotlight. how confident can we be that what you have got is real? we have taken the information that we have received through courts, whistleblowers, criminal investigations, and we have used it to initiate criminal cases in 16 different

countries, and i think five of those countries have submitted these documents in court, and these documents in court, and the courts acknowledge them as real and as actionable, and in some cases the money has been seized and departments and real estate have been seized by different governments, and so this is as real as you are ever going to get. in 2018, he provided a dossier of evidence to the irish authorities. it revealed a trail connecting three irish bank accounts with money from the fraud tied to act to's death. a trail of russian blood money into ireland. —— tied to sergei magnitsky�*s death. what did you get when you presented that evidence to the irish authorities? they did nothing. irish authorities? the did nothinu. , ., they did nothing. did you have some hepe _ they did nothing. did you have some hope they _ they did nothing. did you have some hope they would - they did nothing. did you have some hope they would take . some hope they would take action? well, for example, we presented evidence to the us authorities and they took massive action, the department ofjustice kim

jong—un russian cooks like ton of bricks. jong-un russian cooks like ton of bricks. . ., ., , of bricks. french authorities froze massive _ of bricks. french authorities froze massive assets - of bricks. french authorities froze massive assets and i of bricks. french authorities i froze massive assets and there is a major case going on there. switzerland froze $20 of assets, the is going on there. spain, poland, leatherwanyi, spain, poland, leather wanyi, latvia, spain, poland, leatherwanyi, latvia, i mean, all sorts of places, big action. —— lithuania. french, irish? nothing. in a statement to spotlight, we were told the economic crime bureau did open an investigation and ireland. but no evidence of banality was identified. yet, the bank statements that millions of the money was laundered through ireland, and there is one payment that jumps out. ireland, and there is one payment thatjumps out. it comes wrapped in at the secrecy of a uk limited liability partnership, but from a bank

account in estonia into one of the most notorious crime gangs and russia, the one that masterminded the fort that sergei magnitsky exposed. 275,000 euros leaves the gangs account in estonia and lands into account of a private customer of an ibm in ireland. aiap declined to comment. the bank statement references what appears to be accompanying, celtic properties doo. and there is an —— there is an intriguing note, for apartment] 64 in blue horizon. so where is blue horizon, and apartment] 64?

bad money likes to hide in beautiful places. the money we are following landed in an irish bank account. celtic properties doo. celtic suggests an irish company, but the d00 is what takes us here. doo is a common abbreviation used in countries with slavic languages. it means "limited company". and this one is in montenegro.

a montenegrin property development company with irish owners. it is surprising to find irish developers building apartments on the adriatic coast, in this small balkan country. but montenegro, population just country. but montenegro, populationjust 700,000, is country. but montenegro, population just 700,000, is a surprising place. it is a member of nato, but has strong political ties to russia. it is not in the eu, that it wants in, and uses the euro as currency. and it has laundered euro tingled at 275,000, that brought one apartment from irish property developers here. that is the focus as i followed the sergei magnitsky blood money trail. i want to find out more about celtic properties doo. and i also want to find out who is behind the properties —— purchase of apartment] 64. is it russian apartmentj 64. is it russian

money? good to see you. thanks for taking the time. i am meeting a journalist, a specialist in reporting the region was my politics and crime. montenegro is known for — politics and crime. montenegro is known for a _ politics and crime. montenegro is known for a week— politics and crime. montenegro is known for a week rule - politics and crime. montenegro is known for a week rule of- is known for a week rule of law, revelations when it comes to money laundering, since independence, with russian help, lots of money came from russia. we are talking about aliens. and of course with russian money came political influence and everything else, organised crime, intelligence services and so on. his organised crime, intelligence services and so on.— organised crime, intelligence services and so on. his work as a journalist _ services and so on. his work as a journalist has _ services and so on. his work as a journalist has at _ services and so on. his work as a journalist has at times - services and so on. his work as a journalist has at times cost i a journalist has at times cost him his liberty. he has been jailed twice and is hoping to clear his name on drugs charges he believes were politically motivated. his case has been supported by many international

journalists and human rights organisations. ii journalists and human rights organisations.— organisations. if you investigate - organisations. if you | investigate corruption organisations. if you - investigate corruption in this country, you can end up in prison, and that is what happened to me. 50 prison, and that is what happened to me.- prison, and that is what happened to me. so we are lookin: happened to me. so we are looking at _ happened to me. so we are looking at money _ happened to me. so we are looking at money that - happened to me. so we are i looking at money that flowed from the magnitsky case — are you surprised that some of it landed here? irate you surprised that some of it landed here?— you surprised that some of it landed here? we have a good track record _ landed here? we have a good track record of _ landed here? we have a good track record of dirty _ landed here? we have a good track record of dirty money, l track record of dirty money, and montenegro is known for hosting russian oligarchs and helping them with their businesses.— helping them with their businesses. ~ , ., , businesses. the bank statements we have from _ businesses. the bank statements we have from bill— businesses. the bank statements we have from bill browder - we have from bill browder suggested the russian gang is a uk limited liability partnership to wrap their blood money in respectable secrecy. then laundered it through estonia, before paying it into the aib bank account in ireland, in return for montenegrin property. so far,

so confusing. and that is the point — to hide true ownership. but if we can establish who bought apartmentj 64, we will be able to put a name and face to the transaction. the answer should lie in documents held at the montenegrin property registry. with the assistance from jovo, we managed to navigate the bureaucracy and get hold of some important paperwork from the owner. we have their name, their date of birth, their home city and even their passport details. and this is him. dimitri. 52 years old. and yes, he is russian and born in moscow. and what the documents also reveal is he was no ordinary russian holidaymaker in montenegro.

because in 2008 he didn'tjust buy apartmentj 64—in fact he spent more than 1.4 million euros buying seven apartments in the irish developers. —— from the irish developers. the money to buy apartmentj 64 came directly into a bank account in ireland from a bank account in ireland from a bank account linked to one of russia's most dangerous organised crime gangs. a gang that has robbed the russian people of hundreds of millions, yet enjoys protection from the highest levels of putin's regime. a gang linked to the arrest, torture and death of sergei magnitsky. it is time to see what some of this blood money has bought. stairs from the road take us up to the blue horizon development. it is

actually a very nice, well—kept apartment block, the swimming pool apartment block, the swimming pool, people are enjoying the sun, let's see if we can find apartmentj 64. that is block amber. after a few wrong terms, we find blockj. amber. after a few wrong terms, we find block]. this is it. number is on the door. apartmentj 64. the money trail has taken us from russia to ireland, to montenegro, and ultimately, has led us to this door. a husband and father in russia was arrested, tortured and killed so that ultimately someone could own this place in the sun. so the man was not at

home when we called at apartmentj 64. but i do have his phone number, and to check if it was active, i put it into whatsapp and what i now also haveis whatsapp and what i now also have is a new picture. we messaged a series of questions in russian to dimitri, asking him to explain the source of his money and the evidence we have connecting it to organised crime in russia. we can see they were red, but he failed to respond. celtic properties doo seems to have sold millions worth of property, but the company is now in bankruptcy. across the border in croatia, i have some time to reflect on what we have uncovered, and the remaining questions we have for

the irish developers. the accounts filed in montenegro tell us little about what went on, and how the irish property developers did business. you have to ask, did they do any basic checks on the person who was handing them 1.4 million euros 47 apartments? —— far seven apartments? ireland has sophisticated money—laundering laws and checks on property buyers are routine, but maybe not in montenegro. the developers marketed the properties in montenegro through an irish registered partnership called baltimore holdings. it had a website. when we look at the website, we learn some things. this is an archive of how it would have looked injune 2008. so we see baltimore holdings there,

smarter investment, a nice picture, but we also see the website is offered in two languages, english and russian. and when we look at the contact addresses, there is a postal addresses, there is a postal address in cork, but sales offices notjust in montenegro, but also in russia. the russian market a key focus for the sales. it is not entirely clear who was really running celtic properties doo at the time. we contacted the surviving people who were listed as shareholders. they either declined to comment or denied they were personally involved in or gained from any property sales. bill browder and identified one apartment linked to the russian blood money. spotlight has uncovered a name behind that purchase, and six other deals totalling 1.4 million euros. so you haven't

received any feedback on the evidence that you provided, if we add the evidence that we now have on top of that, the irish authorities, what would you say to them? i authorities, what would you say to them? ., _ authorities, what would you say to them? ., i. ., authorities, what would you say to them? ., ., ., to them? i would say you have a fully baked _ to them? i would say you have a fully baked cakes _ to them? i would say you have a fully baked cakes here _ to them? i would say you have a fully baked cakes here to - fully baked cakes here to investigate. if you don't investigate. if you don't investigate it raises serious questions about your capability or your motivation for doing yourjob. i think they should act and act quickly. money—laundering is not a victimless crime. we know the names of some, such as sergei magnitsky. we have seen its victims in ukraine. the uk, ireland, northern ireland each play their part in the laundering blood money from russia and elsewhere. are those attitudes are changing? or will

the laundromat continue its bloody business? hello there. friday was a pretty unsettled day with loads of showers around, the heaviest across eastern parts of england and eastern scotland, a thundercloud passing on the horizon here in aboyne in aberdeenshire. now, right now, we've got outbreaks of rain that are pushing northwards and eastwards so it is turning increasingly wet with that rain band getting across from northern ireland into scotland, northern england, wales, and the south—west. it doesn't reach east anglia and the south—east of england where it is a dry start to your saturday morning. these temperatures very similar, really, to what we've seen over recent days. now, heading deeper into saturday, this band of rain slowly pushes down towards east anglia

and the south—east of england, but probably not arriving around until the evening time, so decent weather here. behind that, it is a day of sunshine and showers, the heaviest showers this time across northern scotland, that is probably where we will see some thunderstorms, temperatures — high teens in the west, low 20s in the east, just like it has been over recent days, really. beyond that, further showers are in the forecast, especially across north—western areas, but towards the south, it becomes dry and a bit warmer.

welcome to bbc news, i'm rich preston. our top stories: google vows to delete certain location data of users in the us to prevent the identification of those who terminate pregnancies illegally. calls for more protection for women using abortion clinics in northern ireland, as the uk supreme court debates banning protests. ukraine accuses moscow of stealing grain as a russian—flagged ship sets sail with a cargo of seed. top racing driver sir lewis hamilton demands a change in attitude in formula one after a former champion used a racially offensive term. unesco places the ukrainian version of borscht on its list of threatened cultural heritage, but moscow's not happy about it.