Since 2007 Galantas Gold Corporation, a Canadian firm, has been working what is currently Britain's only gold-producing mine at Omagh, in Northern Ireland, shipping the ore to Canada and running a small gold-jewellery operation.

ECONOMIST: The high price of gold is encouraging miners to dream

Prosecutors accused him of running an illegal poker and sports-gambling operation alongside a figure described in the indictment as a high-ranking mafia kingpin in Russia.

WSJ: FBI Links Poker To Russian Mob

In addition to tackling criminals, the long-running operation has also led to the removal of 188 million articles and comments from websites and chat forums that police deemed to be "harmful".

BBC: China cracks down on web criminals

"Dividend" money is what's left for the team's university (for academic purposes, including scholarship payments for players) and athletic department (to support non-revenue sports) after the cost of running the basketball operation in question.

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In 2007 Cosa Nostra was found to be running a money-laundering operation from premises cheekily situated opposite the office of the prime minister.

ECONOMIST: Mafias on the move

And though he claims to agree with his running-mate Yevgeny Primakov that a ground operation would be a mistake, he did so in such a way as to throw doubt on whether he really meant it.

BBC: Russia, bombs and elections

Running the operation is Patrick Brandt, a 30-year-old marketing executive Hall picked up in an early acquisition.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The operation involved magnetic signs for their vans and staff in logoed T-shirts, running seven or eight differently-named firms.

BBC: Fraud gang must repay more than ?415,000 after scams