Phoenix Compliance Essentials #13
Today’s focus: gatekeepers – key players or the weak link in AML/CFT-P-C?
What if intermediary professionals found themselves at the heart of money laundering schemes?
Depending on their practices, these professionals may knowingly or unknowingly contribute to the introduction of illicit funds into the financial system. Their role is therefore central.
➡️ Who are the gatekeepers?
“Gatekeepers”, or facilitators, are legal and accounting professionals (lawyers, notaries, accountants, auditors, etc.) who, whether knowingly or unknowingly, provide criminals with privileged access to mechanisms that enable them to move, conceal or legitimise illicit funds.
➡️ Why are these professions targeted by money launderers?
Because their expertise can be misused to carry out transactions that appear ordinary but are critical to a money laundering scheme. For example:
– Creating companies or complex legal structures, such as shell companies or trusts, to obscure the link between funds and their origin;
– Providing financial or tax advice: individuals may approach a professional while appearing to be legitimate clients, when in reality the advice obtained will be used to integrate or move illicit funds;
– Introducing clients to financial institutions, thereby providing access to services and products that facilitate the movement of funds.
➡️ FATF red flags:
– Customer profile: refusal to provide documentation, excessive secrecy;
– Parties involved: involvement of high-risk jurisdictions or the use of structures designed to conceal beneficial ownership;
– Source of funds: unusual payments, disproportionate amounts or lack of economic justification;
– Nature of the transactions: complex structures or no economic link between the company’s stated purpose and the actual activity.
➡️ Good practices for exposed professions:
Develop a strong culture of risk detection and reporting, notably through:
– Ongoing training;
– Strengthening internal AML/CFT-P-C controls;
– Identifying red flags and promptly submitting the necessary suspicious transaction reports.
In summary: gatekeepers play a key role at the intersection of client needs and compliance requirements. Their contribution is essential to reducing exposure to ML/TF-P-C risks.
A real-life case from the UK:
In 2019, a lawyer was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for helping criminals launder GBP 10.8 million through mortgage fraud schemes, becoming a key link in the money laundering process.
👇 Discover this case below.
