Money Laundering is the popular term for the way criminal’s clean money obtained from illegal methods, such as drug dealing, prostitution and people trafficking.
The issue with this ‘dirty money’, if the criminals were to pay it into a conventional bank, the banks are duty bound to report the deposit to the National Crime Agency. To prevent forfeiting the funds, the person would need to prove the money has come from legitimate sources.
Ways criminals could clean their money with the Council
- Buy their council/social housing property through the Right To Buy Scheme using their ill-gotten gains, then either rent the property for a steady income or sell the property for a profit
- Over pay for goods and services, such as council tax / business rates. Realise they are then in credit and ask for a refund.
- A building company pays all it bills, such rates, planning / building control fees in cash, then deposit client payments into their company accounts
These are just some examples. Any transaction could potentially be criminals cleaning their money. However, there is still no need to panic. The risk to the council is relatively low compared to other financial institutions.
What to look out for
- Consecutive transactions with total exceeding the threshold of £10,000
- Regular large and/or too frequent payments
- Frequent deposits followed shortly by frequent withdrawals
- Unnecessary third party transactions, paid on behalf of the debtor
- Any unconnected third party whose involvement cannot reasonably be explained
- No reasonable explanation that the debtor could have sourced the funds lawfully
- The amount, nature and frequency of transactions are unusual for that type of transaction
If it looks like a fish and smells like a fish………!!!!
What shall I do?
- Don’t ignore it. Concealing or failing to report your concerns is an offence
- Remain calm. As long as you have reported it, you have done nothing wrong.
- Remain quiet. Only report your concern to the Council’s Anti Money Laundering Reporting Officer. Do not tell anyone else as you may inadvertently tip off any conspirator or the criminal. By doing so, you may be prosecuted for aiding and abetting.
- Report it promptly to ensure that you won’t be accused of any wrongdoing and to give the Authorities a strong chance of catching the perpetrator. Find out more information and report money laundering suspicions by following this link to the Fraud Team’s webpage.
This update is issued by the Council’s Fraud and Investigation Team. If you require any advice or guidance in relation to fraud and corruption, please see the Fraud Team webpage or email us directly at investigations@molevalley.gov.uk . Online fraud allegations can be made https://report-fraud.co.uk/molevalley/0