These complex money-laundering schemes undermine the financial integrity of the Netherlands on a large scale and result in legitimate business owners becoming involved in money laundering. A third-party payment is a payment made by a party that did not purchase the goods or services and that appears to have no connection to the transaction. Although third-party payments are not illegal in and of themselves, they can be misused in certain arrangements to conceal undesirable or criminal activities. Because these structures are often complex, it is not always easy for individual gatekeepers to recognize them. The video below explains this phenomenon in an accessible way.

Would you like to learn more about this topic?

Then check out this compilation of case studies on third-party payments or the animation on cash compensation structures that use third-party payments.