An offshore firm, Alpha Consulting, has been revealed to have played a significant role in facilitating companies used by individuals within Vladimir Putin's inner circle, alongside over 900 UK

partnerships employing a secrecy loophole to conceal their true ownership.

Alpha Consulting, based in the Seychelles, has been implicated in helping to set up numerous UK partnerships exploiting this legal gap. Some of these partnerships have been involved in alleged fraud, operating an illegal essay mill, and even interfering in a foreign election. One of the high-profile beneficiaries of Alpha's services was the late mercenary boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who had his yacht concealed through one of these partnerships.

The investigation, conducted by the BBC, Finance Uncovered, and the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation, analyzed internal Alpha documents and thousands of company records to identify the individuals secretly benefiting from the offshore firm's activities.

The revelations also point to the failure of the UK government to extend regulations requiring companies to disclose their beneficial owners to all limited partnerships, a critical issue in preventing money laundering and illicit activities.

Despite Alpha's denial of any wrongdoing and its claim that it complies with all due diligence and anti-money laundering procedures, this investigation has shed light on the broader issue of secrecy and legal loopholes in the UK system that require immediate attention and reform. Photo by 2s3m akatsiya, Wikimedia commons.