Many were shocked to hear about the arrest of several Malaysians who were involved in the Macau Scam. The money from the Macau Scam would then be laundered into businesses of local celebrities.
You can get more information about Money Laundering here.
Whether the local celebrities had any knowledge of the scam remains to be seen. However, from a business perspective, it would be good for businesses to be careful to not be unwillingly become the tool for money laundering.
Here are 4 signs your business is used by criminals as part of a money laundering scheme:
- The people who plan to do business with are unwilling or difficult in providing information about themselves and their business;
- They deal with cash or money is transferred from a variety of bank accounts (with different account owners). They will either claim they are related companies or persons, or that they are having some problems with their bank account and needs to use this one (which is unrelated to them);
- There will be 3rd parties who will be suddenly involved in making or receiving payments;
- There are no lawyers or only their lawyers who are involved. They do not want to deal with your appointed lawyers. Some of the reasons they will give include – “don’t waste money using a lawyer”, “this is a simple deal. We don’t need a lawyer”, “My lawyer can handle everything. You don’t need your own lawyer” etc.
What we share here does not mean that they are involved in money laundering. However, if you see the signs there, just be more careful and cautious in dealing with them and proceeding with the business deal. Don’t be a tool for criminals to use your business to launder money.
The signs are not exhaustive. As criminals need to consistently change their modus operandi to avoid detection from the authorities, the above signs would be a good start to look out for.
When in doubt, always consult your Commercial Lawyer.
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