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Emmanuel Agwu
Criminals employ several means to launder money and make it appear from legitimate origins although obtained illegitimately. One of the most common ways they achieve this is through shell companies which they use as a legal front to “wash” illegally obtained funds. Shell companies in money laundering have become a key part of the operations as criminals have found ways to take advantage of low AML-regulated jurisdictions to set up a business and launder money.
Organisations today, need to be able to spot such entities, to ensure they don’t become a party to money laundering and protect themselves from the negative impact of conducting transactions for such entities.
A shell company is a term often used to refer to legal entities with no active business operation or significant assets, hence the name “shell”. The name, Shell, describes their hollow nature and they are also referred to as ghost companies since they do not have any operations.
Although they do not have any operations, shell companies often conduct transactions like regular entities for legitimate or illegitimate purposes. They usually don't:
However, they have a board of directors and stakeholders who incorporate the company and may occasionally hold investments or bank accounts for transactions.
Although shell companies can be registered anywhere in the world, shell companies are mostly incorporated in jurisdictions with lax laws. Areas with weak regulations, low corporate taxes and strengthened privacy laws are the most attractive to such companies. Examples of such countries are Switzerland and the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, etc.
Shell companies are generally legal. However, it is mostly seen as illegal due to its design which makes it attractive for criminals to take advantage of when laundering money. For example, an individual may create a shell company to hold his or her property assets. This means that the company owns the assets, which is completely legal.
It could generally be used for the following legitimate purposes:
Ultimately, shell companies are generally legal. However, depending on the way they are used, they could quickly become illegal entities. Criminals largely use shell companies today which is why they are so often linked to fraudulent activities.
The simplicity and anonymity afforded by shell companies make them very attractive for criminal activities. It creates a loophole for hiding beneficial ownership and real intentions, which criminals can take advantage of to stay under the radar and facilitate criminal transactions.
With these benefits, shell companies can hide illegal money and avoid anti-money laundering laws and taxes among others. Regulatory authorities today are creating new laws to combat this loophole by mandating businesses to run verification checks. This is why organisations are now mandated to verify key information like business incorporation details, beneficial ownership, financial sources and more as part of their corporate KYC process.
One of the most prominent real-life examples of shell companies used in money laundering operations is the Danske Bank scandal. From 2007 to 2015, Danske Bank's Estonian branch was a hotspot for laundering approximately $230 billion in suspicious transactions.
A significant portion of these transactions was funnelled through a network of shell companies. The process unfolded as follows:
The Danske Bank case is a notable instance, but there are various other methods by which shell companies facilitate money laundering:
Shell companies manipulate trade invoices, over-invoicing or under-invoicing goods and services to transfer value across borders. This technique disguises the illicit transfer of money as a legitimate trade.
Shell companies buy high-value real estate properties. These transactions mask the true ownership and source of funds. Properties can be bought and sold multiple times at inflated prices to further launder money.
Shell companies are often set up in offshore jurisdictions known for banking secrecy and minimal regulatory requirements. These offshore accounts can hold significant sums of illicit money, which can move through the global financial system with little scrutiny.
Shell companies invest laundered money into legitimate businesses or financial instruments, such as stocks, bonds, or trust funds. These investments yield legitimate returns, further integrating illicit funds into the economy.
Shell companies provide loans or mortgages to related parties or businesses. Repayment of these loans appears as legitimate financial activity, while the actual purpose is to disguise the movement of illicit funds.
Shell companies are usually characterised by the following:
Shell companies are usually layered with one shell company owning several owners, creating a deep layer of ownership structure. This makes it difficult to track the original owners.
Shell company's directors and shareholders are usually nominated individuals who lend their official names and information but do not have any real ownership of the company. They are just used as a front to protect the real beneficial owners, creating a separate layer of ownership.
Shell companies have little or no activities and mostly exist on paper. This makes it difficult to investigate them.
Some of the key red flags that may be an indication of money laundering activities by a shell company include:
Organisations need to conduct business verification and customer due diligence (CDD) on key stakeholders of a shell company for AML compliance. This helps them obtain key company documentation like legal name, address and business structure to verify their ownership structure and understand the nature of its transactions.
Smile ID business verification solution empowers organisations to achieve this quickly and accurately. Also, organisations can easily detect suspicious entities and spot fraudulent shell companies by performing ID verification, government KYC verification and AML checks on relevant stakeholders.
We are equipped to help you level up your KYC/AML compliance stack. Our team is ready to understand your needs, answer questions, and set up your account.