More than £28 billion of British taxpayers' cash has reportedly been given to terrorists and hostile states in the last decade. A leaked government dossier is said to have revealed a fortune has made its way into the clutches of organised crime groups. And millions has reportedly gone to Britain's enemies like Russia and ISIS after foreign aid and Covid relief loans ended up in the wrong hands between 2015 and 2021. The blunder came to light after a report was commissioned by the Cabinet Office.
What Could £28 Billion Buy in the UK?
But what if, instead of bombs and weapons used to commit terror attacks, our enemies chose to spend that money in the UK? Here, our Daily Star takes a look at what that dosh could have bought them in Blighty.
Six Manchester Uniteds
British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe forked out £1.25 billion for a 27.7% stake in Manchester United in 2024, making him the club's majority shareholder. Based on that, it would take around £4 billion for full control of the club, meaning the money allegedly sent to Mad Vlad and other wrong 'uns could have bought the club six times over. Alternatively, the cash would be enough to afford the purchase of Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea – and still have billions left over to spend on signing Erling Haaland. His market value of £170 million would see you be able to sign him 164 times with £28 billion.
Ten Buckingham Palaces
Buckingham Palace, the King's official residence, is considered to be the world's most valuable residential property and market valuations range from £2.2 billion to over £3.1 billion. If we place it in the middle at just under £2.8 billion, that means Mad Vlad and his mates could have bought it 10 times over with the misdirected funds.
More Than 100 of the Most Expensive Mansions
A London mansion sold for a cool £265 million earlier this year, making it the most expensive known deal worldwide. Property developer Nick Candy flogged his pad, known as Providence House, to an unknown buyer in April. Located in upmarket Chelsea, within the grounds of the Royal Hospital, it sits in a two acre site once home to Britain’s first Prime Minister Robert Walpole. And with £28 billion knocking about, you could buy around 100 houses of a similar price.
Or Much of the UK Housing Market
If luxury isn't your thing, you could put the £28 billion and buy much of the housing stock in the country. Estimates place the average UK house price at just under £300,000, meaning you can pick up around 3,300 per billion. That would leave you with around 92,400 homes. Not a bad property portfolio to have.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
The fortune could also land you more than 10,000 of the world's most expensive hypercars, such as the £2.5M Bugatti Tourbillon or the Aston Martin Valkyrie. And for international travel, it could buy you around 375 state-of-the-art long-range business jets, such as the Gulfstream G700, which go for between £58 million to £62 million. It would also just about cover the UK's annual spending on the railways, believed to be around £26 billion a year.
