MICHELLE Mone has claimed she is being treated like Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar after having her bank accounts frozen.
The Tory peer is currently being investigated over allegations of fraud and bribery relating to her husband Doug Barrowman’s company PPE Medpro.
Mone previously admitted to referring the company to the UK Government during the pandemic via the VIP lane system, which resulted in it being awarded contracts worth £203 million.
It was later discovered that the contracts were awarded several days before PPE Medpro was registered at Companies House following the lobbying of ministers by Mone.
The 25m gowns sent to the NHS as a result of the deal were rejected after a technical inspection and never used by the health service. The deal for the gowns was valued at £122m.
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Still, around £60m in profit from the deals – with PPE Medpro also netting an £88m contract for face masks – remains in Barrowman’s financial trusts, of which Mone is a beneficiary.
The National Crime Agency is believed to have frozen Mone’s accounts – including one with exclusive bank Coutts – around 12 months ago to prevent her from moving around cash while the investigation is ongoing.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, she said: “It has been an extremely tough year of pain with frozen accounts.
“Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, I’ve been treated like Pablo Escobar. What happened to innocent until proven guilty?”
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The Proceeds of Crime Act allows law enforcement authorities to freeze the bank accounts of suspected criminals until the person is charged.
If found guilty, the money made through the PPE contracts could be recovered through a confiscation order.
It is believed Mone only discovered her accounts were frozen after her card was declined at a petrol station.
During an interview with the BBC last week, Mone and Barrowman both maintained their innocence and claimed to have done nothing wrong.
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