Triangle transaction
A triangular transaction or a reciprocal transaction is a method of money laundering .
While private individuals are mostly used as so-called financial agents to commit offenses, in international triangular transactions , cross-border organized crime makes use of the actually legal financial flows of banks and insurance companies as well as the activities of financial intermediaries and other professional groups for their illegal purposes, in particular to obtain money from drugs -, arms and human trafficking, smuggling, extortion, corruption, fraud and tax evasion into the legal economic cycle. The annual income from such triangular transactions is estimated to amount to 2% to 5% of global GDP , which corresponds to around 2,000 billion US dollars.
The illegal triangular transaction must be distinguished from the legal intra-Community triangular transaction ( English transaction triangular )
method
Two front men in the vicinity of the same criminal organization and customers of the same financial intermediary, who are, however, based in different countries, place a buy order on the one hand and a sell order on the other hand. The intermediary assigns profits and losses to these fictitious commercial or commodity transactions accordingly, so that a seemingly legal money transfer takes place. In fact, the loss of one corresponds to the gain of the other. Since both belong to the same organization, the amounts are legalized.
Typically, triangular transactions with diversion are processed through a third country. This third country forms an intermediate station for the funds to be transferred. One of the parties (usually the payee) acquires a straw man in the third country, often a local lawyer or notary , who acts as an intermediary between party A (customer) and party B (recipient).
The actual payee indicates the front man to the customer as the recipient. Party A sends the funds to the front man, who keeps an agreed percentage as commission and then forwards the remaining amount to party B.
Preferred third countries
Preference is given to countries whose anti-money laundering measures do not meet FATF standards and which do not comply with an obligation to provide information in tax matters upon request or in which surveillance is futile despite cooperation ( non-cooperative countries and territories NCCT) ).
Countermeasures and Legal Policy
The Joint Financial Investigation Group (GFG), located at the Federal Criminal Police Office , is responsible for prosecuting internationally organized money laundering, in particular by monitoring cross-border cash transactions, in accordance with Section 4 (1) No. 1 BKAG . Section 100c, Paragraph 1, No. 1 in conjunction with Section 100b, Paragraph 2, No. 1, Letter l of the Code of Criminal Procedure permits acoustic monitoring of living spaces ( large eavesdropping ) in particularly serious cases of money laundering . Profits obtained from money laundering can be confiscated in accordance with Section 261 (7) and Sections 74 and 74a of the Criminal Code .
On March 23, 2017, the German Bundestag passed the law on the reform of the criminal asset recovery, which came into force on July 1, 2017 in accordance with Article 8 . According to this, a decision on the confiscation of crime profits and reimbursement to the crime victim should be made in the criminal proceedings.
The European Commission has on 21 December 2016 two legislative proposals in the framework of the European security agenda submitted to combat money laundering criminally and to ensure that offenders who finance terrorism, can be removed from their assets, including a proposal for a Regulation on the mutual judicial recognition of freezing and confiscation orders.
Web links
- Requirements for a compliance / CSR process: Compliance risk: Prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing for companies that trade in goods Federal Association of Materials Management, Purchasing and Logistics eV, as of December 1, 2013
Individual evidence
- ↑ Working document on money laundering European Parliament, Special Committee against Organized Crime, Corruption and Money Laundering, February 1, 2013
- ↑ Working document on money laundering, Appendix I.
- ↑ Law on the reform of the criminal asset recovery : text, amendments, reasons
- ↑ Basic information about the process in the DIP , accessed on June 16, 2017
- ↑ Combating financial crime and the financing of terrorism, note dated March 20, 2017
