Money laundering - a cog in the machine
The criminal fraternity look for ever more ingenious ways to make the proceeds from their crimes look like legitimate earnings. Sometimes they turn to innocent parties to unwittingly involve them in their schemes.
Money Laundering is an activity in which it is possible to become unknowingly involved. A recent case saw a man apply for a sales job based in a European country, selling goods in the UK market. The man was advised by his new employers to open an account with Barclays, which he did, and everything seemed to be running smoothly.
Substantial amount
Soon after the account was opened, however, the man was asked by his employers to go to Barclays and draw out a substantial amount of money. This money was then to be forwarded to a Russian bank account, with the man told to retain 10% of it for himself.
Obviously, the man was suspicious to find that there was any money in the account, given that he was yet to make any sale. The chances were very high that this money had been stolen by organised crime gangs, using methods such as internet ‘phishing'.
This is quite a common example of how innocent people can be pulled into money laundering. Having received money into their account this way, via a ‘lawful source' such as the man above and his new bank account, criminals can then claim the cash has been earned by legitimate means. The cash has, to all intents and purposes, been cleaned.
To help combat these methods, however, laws governing the banking of cash places the onus on banks, building societies, solicitors and so on to inform the authorities of any unusual cash deposits / transactions that are being lodged in bank accounts