Before sending your money anywhere, domestic or international, do you know the account and who is behind it? You need to verify it independently if someone you do not know is telling or directing you in wire instructions what account to send money to?
This LinkedIn post gets into you understanding the relationships ” between people, accounts, transactions and movement of money.”
Sr. Manager – Training & Quality | Financial Crime Compliance & Fintech Operations | 8 Clients | 2,500+ Workforce Portfolio | KYC • KYB • AML • TM • Sanctions | Building High Performance FCC Performance Center
Have you ever wondered how a bad actor leverages a marketplace to conduct financial crime?
A booking can look genuine. A payment can be processed successfully. A seller can appear legitimate. Yet, behind these transactions, a criminal network could be moving illicit funds.
🏠 How does it happen?
🔹 1. Criminal Funds: Money from fraud or other illegal activities enters the network.
🔹 2. Fake Accounts: Criminals misuse identities or create deceptive customer and seller accounts.
🔹 3. Suspicious Bookings: Transactions are made to appear like genuine purchases or accommodation bookings.
🔹 4. Payments: Funds enter the marketplace payment system.
🔹 5. Seller Payouts: Money is released to accounts linked to the criminal network.
🔹 6. Money Mules: Funds are transferred through other individuals’ accounts.
🔹 7. Layering: Money moves across multiple accounts, making its origin harder to trace.
🔹 8. Final Outcome: Criminals attempt to make illicit funds appear like legitimate business income.
🚩 What should Financial Crime Analysts look for?
✅ Multiple accounts connected through shared devices, payment instruments, or other identifiers.
✅ Unusual booking patterns that lack a convincing commercial explanation.
✅ Seller identity details that do not match the person controlling the property or receiving payouts.
✅ Rapid movement of funds following a payout.
✅ Unexplained links between customers, sellers, beneficiaries, and onward transfers.
✅ Payment disputes, chargebacks, or suspected stolen payment instruments associated with the activity.
🎯 How do we make the right decision?
✔️ Trace the complete flow of funds.
✔️ Verify identities and payout ownership.
✔️ Connect related accounts and transactions.
✔️ Assess whether the activity makes commercial sense.
✔️ Document findings and escalate unexplained risks.
For marketplace platforms, effective financial crime prevention requires more than payment monitoring. It requires understanding the relationships between people, accounts, transactions, and the movement of money.
#FinancialCrime #AML #FinCrime #TransactionMonitoring #FraudPrevention #MarketplaceRisk #Compliance
