A MAN from Swindon was among 13 to be arrested by HM Revenue and Customs in a UK-wide swoop on a people suspected of laundering tens of millions of pounds.

Almost 30 warrants were executed by 150 customs officers in Swindon, London, Bedfordshire, Kent, County Armagh and Deeside.

A 27-year-old Swindon man was arrested on suspicion of money laundering. He has since been released under investigation.

The HMRC said it had seized £1.5m in cash, four cars worth around £400,000 and were granted nine orders freezing £520,000 in UK bank accounts.

The agency was this afternoon refusing to explain the nature of the alleged money laundering activities.

Simon York, fraud investigation director at HMRC, said: “Money laundering and the organised crime it supports is hugely harmful to businesses, citizens and society as a whole. That is why it is a priority for HMRC and this large-scale operation demonstrates we will not hesitate to investigate those suspected of being involved.

“We are determined to cut off the funds that are the lifeblood of serious crime in the UK and in the last year alone, HMRC has recovered more than £192 million of illicit proceeds using its civil and criminal proceeds of crime powers. Tax crime and money laundering deprive public services of vital funds and I would urge anyone with information on this type of fraud to report it to HMRC online, or call our fraud hotline on 0800 788 887.”