FCA102 – Anti-Money Laundering Administration

Assignment 1 – Research

Name : BETTY GUNAWAN

Course Code : FCA102

Due Date : NOVEMBER 26

Professor : DAN BOWERING

You are required to find and select:

 1 article relating to a case involving Money Laundering

You can use any of the following resources; newspapers, weekly journals, or (reputable)
Internet news sites. All articles must be dated from September 1, 2019, onward. You may
access Seneca’s Newnham Campus Library, any Seneca resources, local libraries, or the
Internet.
You are to select your own articles and must not lend articles to other students. Assignment 1
should be double-spaced in 12 pt. font and should be between 3 – 4 pages long (not including
the STR Report).

Content: Use the following headings:

Introduction: Introduce the article, why it was selected, and how the article relates to
Money Laundering.
Summary: Write a summary of the article. Tip: One way to do this is to read the article
several times, jot down key facts and then write your summary without looking at the
article, only at your notes. That way you are more likely to express the facts with your
own writing style and words.

Topic Analysis: Students must write an analysis of the article. The analysis should:

 Identify and explain in detail at least two (2) red flags (indicators or suspicions) from
the case. (If there are more than two ensure to identify them.)
 Identify in detail the various stages (if applicable) of Money Laundering noted in the
case including details of the predicate offence(s), if any.
STR Submission:
Assume you are a FINTRAC reporting entity. You are required to submit a Suspicious
Transaction Report (STR) to FINTRAC based on the AML red flags mentioned in the
topic analysis above.

 Assumptions can be used but ensure to distinguish between your assumptions

and the details provided in the case.
 The essential sections that must be completed are sections G and H (if
applicable) of the STR report.
 Remember, the STR submission should relate to the article submitted.

INTRODUCTION
Why this article was selected?
How the article relates to Money Laundering?
This article relates to Money Laundering as in:
1. Case studies were detected in the report of European Union

In the European Union, the most important crime in terms of the trends and typology in the
money laundering phenomenon is fraud, in its various forms, namely: carousel fraud presented in
Germany and Belgium, social benefits fraud and investment fraud in Austria, online fraud in
Cyprus and Sweden, social engineering fraud and virtual currency fraud in Lithuania, and social
fraud or fiscal fraud in Belgium, with this also being mentioned for Luxembourg, Malta, Poland,
and Latvia. It is followed as an incidence of tax crime, corruption and bribery, drug and human
trafficking, organized criminal group, casinos and gambling, real estate investment, the
increasing use of payment services, professional money laundering, and the virtual currencies
trade.

In the prepared reports, with a few exceptions (Ireland, Romania, and Spain), data were
presented, as well as sometimes rankings on the main crimes resulting from the analysis of
suspicious transactions and activities, but also case studies from 2019 for various types of
money laundering. For example, Belgium presented six case studies on the structure trends
identified, cases, action taken, and awareness-raising. France presented 14 case studies, of
which 7 were from the reports of obliged entities and 6 were from the TRACFIN analysis of the
France Financial Intelligence Unit, as well as 1 case with international cooperation. The German
FIU presented 11 case studies, the Czech Republic presented no less than 16 case studies, and
the examples can continue. From all of these cases results, the complexity and diversity of
money laundering actions, but especially the extremely important role of national bodies in
identifying, analyzing, and stopping these activities, was considered.

SUMMARY
Risk of money laundering and terrorist financing is a global challenge that needs urgent attention
to safeguard global financial systems from criminals. 

TOPIC ANALYSIS

One of the Belgian case studies is about money laundering using shell companies through
accounting and legal professionals.

These shell companies were used as facades, involved in areas that Belgians consider high-risk
sectors from a money laundering perspective, such as construction activities, cleaning activities,
import and export, or the hospitality sector. Postbox addresses were most often run by young
managers of a foreign origin or nationality. Some of them were contacted as soon as they arrived
in Belgium, even though they did not have the necessary skills to manage a company.

The case study showed that the lawyers or accountants gave assistance or took over the task of
setting up companies with payment for the start-up costs, elaboration of a business plan,
registration in the necessary national records, preparation of reports and financial statements,
and the provision headquarters and logistics. All of these elements show that the professionals
implicated make their knowledge available to various criminal networks. The files set up in these
cases were forwarded to the Belgian authorities.

STR Submission

https://www.proquest.com/docview/2544935788?pq-origsite=primo&accountid=28610

https://web-s-ebscohost-com.libaccess.senecacollege.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?
vid=1&sid=73f084af-550c-4485-b4f4-b03fe03d8062%40redis