On the use of false and forged* invoices: we often encounter them in our analyses of unusual transactions. Forgery is a crime in itself and can additionally be used to facilitate money laundering. That is why it is subject to reporting obligations.

In this case, several victims transferred money to a bank account belonging to a criminal. The bank suspected that the deposits were made for investment purposes. However, in the financial records of the criminal, the incoming money was accounted for very differently.

False invoices for accurate accounting

The criminal used false invoices to make his financial records appear accurate and, presumably, to hide from gatekeepers that investment activities were taking place without the required licence. The included descriptions had little or nothing to do with investment transactions, such as loans that had apparently been received.

Bank becomes suspicious

The bank investigated an alert from the transaction monitoring system and questioned the customer about the account activity. When the customer sent in false documents, the bank became suspicious and reported an unusual transaction to FIU-the Netherlands. After analysis, FIU declared the transaction suspicious. The fact that the bank had included the false invoices was a huge help in this regard.

Arrest

After being declared suspicious, the transaction was made available to the investigation services. This investigation resulted in the arrest of the suspect, but unfortunately most of the invested capital had disappeared.