LONDON (Sputnik) — Two Londoners were arrested by British police on charges of fraud, money laundering and cooperating with terrorists from the ISIL, the Scotland Yard press office said on Wednesday.
Two men, aged 29 and 23, were detained at addresses in west and east London on suspicion of money-laundering, the press office told RIA Novosti.
Scotland Yard said that the arrested are suspected of a series of frauds targeting elderly people.
Given the criminals’ connection to ISIL extremists, police are trying to determine whether the stolen funds were directed to financing terrorist activities.
The Scotland Yard representative added that the two men are being held in custody at a south London police station.
The arrests were conducted as a part of an ongoing police investigation into a “large-scale” fraud, associated with UK extremists travelling to Syria in order to join ISIL. The operation was carried out by the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command.