Lingerie tycoon Michelle Mone says she has been treated like drug lord Pablo Escobar after the bank accounts were frozen by National Crime Agency amid PPE scandal

Baroness Michelle Monet has claimed she is being treated like Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar after her bank accounts were frozen amid the PPE scandal.

Baroness Mone, 52, is being investigated by the National Crime Agency (NCA) over allegations of fraud and bribery in relation to PPE Medpro, a company headed by her husband which has received £200 million in government contracts during the pandemic.

The NCA is believed to have frozen several of her accounts, including one at Coutts, a private bank favored by the royal family.

The freeze was ordered about 12 months ago to prevent her from moving cash. Sunday Times reported. But Tory’s headline-grabbing colleague claims she only found out about the freeze when she tried to make a purchase at a petrol station.

Lady Michelle, widely known as ‘Baroness Bra’, has now compared herself to the so-called king of cocaine, telling the newspaper: ‘It has been an extremely difficult year of pain due to frozen accounts. Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, I was treated like Pablo Escobar. What happened to someone who was innocent until proven guilty?

Baroness Michelle Monet (pictured) has claimed she is being treated like Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar after the National Crime Agency froze her bank accounts amid the PPE scandal.

Lady Michelle, widely known as ‘Baroness Bra’, has now compared herself to the so-called king of cocaine, saying: ‘It’s been an extremely difficult year of pain due to frozen accounts. Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, I was treated like Pablo Escobar. What happened to someone who was innocent until proven guilty? Pictured: A photograph of Pablo Esocabra taken in 1976.

The NCA is investigating Baroness Monet and her husband, Doug Barrowman, 58, on suspicion of fraud and bribery over their involvement in a lucrative government PPE contract, which the couple deny.

In May 2020, Baroness Mone lobbied Michael Gove and Lord Agnew to secure profitable business for PPE Medpro.

The company then secured contracts to supply the NHS with medical protective equipment during the pandemic through the “VIP route” with preferred partners on an expedited basis.

PPE Medpro was awarded one contract worth £81 million to supply face masks and another contract worth £122 million for medical gowns.

The deal made a profit of around £60 million, but the government sued the company for £122 million plus costs for alleged “breach of contract and unjust enrichment”. PPE Medpro is defending the lawsuit.

Lady Michelle has denied any involvement in the company for years and has not declared any connection with PPE Medpro in the House of Lords register of interests.

But in November last year, leaked documents from HSBC revealed that Barrowman had been paid £65 million from Medpro’s PPE profits. The documents also reveal that £29 million was transferred to an offshore trust whose beneficiaries include Baroness Monet and her children.

The NCA is investigating Baroness Monet and her husband, Doug Barrowman, 58, on suspicion of fraud and bribery over their involvement in a lucrative government PPE contract, which the couple deny. Lady Michelle pictured before the opening of State Parliament in 2017.

In an interview earlier this month, Lady Michelle admitted she had lied to the press about her links to the firm, but insisted she could not “figure out what we did wrong”.

Both she and Barrowman were questioned by the NCA under caution. However, it is understood that both came to the interview with prepared statements and, citing legal advice, refused to answer other questions.

At least four ministers involved in the contracting process are reported to have cooperated with investigators.

Mr Gove is said to have handed over “everything”. Last week he said he hoped the NCA investigation would “conclude quickly” and that “justice can be done”.