Danish Police Have Made Many Arrests Following Investigations Into A Criminal Operation Targeting Elderly People – Crime
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Angelika Hellweger of financial crime specialists Rahman
Ravelli considers the case and the warning signs of such
wrongdoing.
Danish police arrested 135 people suspected of laundering money
defrauded from elderly people.
The money was defrauded by contacting elderly people and
convincing them to transfer money from their bank accounts or
provide personal banking information.
The police have said that those arrested were not the organisers
of the criminal operation. They were “mules”, who allowed
their bank accounts to be used to launder the money. The
authorities have prepared
money laundering charges against a total of 212 people.
The case highlights the need for vigilance from financial
institutions, who can play an important role in preventing,
detecting and reporting suspicious activity relating to the
defrauding of elderly people. When assessing customer-related
behaviour, particular attention needs to be paid to a person’s
historical financial activity and whether their current
transactions are consistent with their previous transactions.
There is a need to be aware of potential red flags – unusual
activity such as large, frequent or unexplained withdrawals. If an
elderly customer with known physical or intellectual difficulties
cannot detail sound reasons for unusual activity on their account,
concerns have to be raised.
If, for instance, the individual changes from a basic account to
one that offers more complicated services and that customer does
not seem to fully understand or need this type of service, this
could be a sign of suspicious activity. Other red flags could
include where an older customer’s account suddenly has new
connections to accounts abroad or where they receive and transfer
money to other accounts with whom they have no known personal
relationship.
In addition, when a customer sends multiple checks or wire
transfers with descriptions in the memo line such as “tech
support services,” “wins” or “taxes,” this
could also suggest that they are sending unusual payments that
should be examined.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
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