Red flags you need to know about financial crime – Security Expert

Read the red flags of financial crime (money laundering) from expert’s perspectives

Key characteristics of money laundering gangs and their purposes may include, but not limited to the following tactics:

1. Conceal:
Money Laundering idols will always want to Conceal the originality of their dirty coins (money), and they will go at any length and breadth to succeed doing so, in order to blindfold financial sector regulators and their accountable institutions.

2. Control:
Money Laundering gangs love to have control of their dirty Money, and to also control the front – back ends of all financial transactions, in order to avoid any element of suspicious red flag being noticed by law enforcement officers, and key actors in the financial sector. Control gives them the power of ownership.

3. Convert:
Money Laundering idols will usually convert their total sums into smaller pieces, and into diverse denominations. They don’t just play around duplicated coin and notes, they could also dive straight into multiplied business activities, and philanthropic benevolence, in an attempt to appease the gods. In the process, they creates a decoy to hide the originality of the filt and stinkers they are dealing with.

4. Contradict:
The key leaders of Money Laundering gangs creates a subtle contradictions in the frontlines in order to sway the attention of bank tellers, and their financial relationship managers. The elements of contradictions may vary in size, and in shape, and same goes with their actions with law enforcement officers, and the power brokers (statutory authorities).

5. Connect:
Money Laundering idols will always find a way of connecting and pushing through their long concrete layers of dubious schemes to help them achieve a suitable connection between standard norms, and appropriate societal behaviour. Money Laundering idols will engage in diversity of investment ventures in line with their initial business cover story, and ensure it’s appealing to the ordinary people (the masses), and the sexy eyes of the world.

6. Reasonable action:
Investigators and financial crime experts should always have in mind the complex web of the theory of 5C’s and put themselves in a proper position to decode the puzzle; being it in the frontline or at the back office, you are obliged.

7. I wish all frontline financial crime prevention experts, Investigators, and due diligence officers, the best in your endeavours. It can only get better, keep pushing it forward.

By Richard Kumadoe
Fraud Preventions Expert and Security Consultant: +233-2485-33466