REUTERS
Investigators in the U.K. are reviewing evidence suggesting that one of the country’s wealthiest men engaged in a yearslong scheme of trafficking women to Britain and exploiting them for sex, authorities said.
Hamish Ogston, a high-profile British philanthropist worth around $160 million, was the subject of an explosive Sunday Times investigation published over the weekend detailing claims that he trafficked or attempted traffic vulnerable Filipina and Thai sex workers to the U.K. over the course of the last 15 years. In the wake of the report, Scotland Yard told The Times that it is aware of “allegations of exploitation” and drug offenses against Ogston.
“We take reports of this nature extremely seriously and are now reviewing this information to assess what further action is needed,” the Metropolitan Police statement added. Ogston, 75, has denied that he exploits women. “I am very sad that the publication of these allegations is going to cause immeasurable harm to the charities which I have been able to support over the years,” he said.