DIFFERENT ANGLE by Kenneth Rijock
The recent decision of the European Union to decline to establish preliminary ties with Serbia was most certainly noted by the more astute money launderers and financial criminals, for that country's continued exclusion from the EU is a target of opportunity for practitioners of the darker financial arts. Whilst you may not see any potential openings in Serbia for money laundering operations that will impact you, rest assured that they do exist for those with fertile, but jaded, imaginations.
- Money launderers relocating a portion of their operations into Serbia may find cash placement or currency exchange opportunities by transacting trade from there with other nations in the region that use the Euro, or are officially or unofficially effectively circulating the common Euro as a primary or alternative currency.
- Do not forget the methods of trade-based money laundering, which can legitimise international funds transfers without suspicion. If you are unfamiliar with this subject, go to: www.internationaltradealert.com/
- Could the proceeds of crime migrate into Serbia for investment (integration), to be held long-term within developing businesses, only to be sold when eventual conversion to the Euro occurs several years in the future? It is, after all, a great way to hide illicit profits; park them in a country outside the EU that will enter the Euro-zone at a later date.
- If I was to create a criminal enterprise there, I might affiliate myself with some individuals with extreme nationalist views, in order to give myself a degree of immunity from prying law enforcement attention. EU investigators would also be rebuffed if my front men were regarded as xenophobic by Serbian authorities. Never assume that financial criminals will not know how to use the political card in their operations.
- Perhaps depressed areas of Serbia might be a good place to open up a bogus charity that one could use as a screen or funnel for illicit cash needing to travel outside the EU to a safe haven.
So you see, do not dismiss any European backwater as unsuitable for the practice of money laundering.
The facts and opinions stated in this article are those of the author and not those of World-Check. World-Check does not warrant the accuracy of any facts and opinions stated in this article, does not endorse them, and accepts no responsibility for them.
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