Why do the Halifax want to know where my money is from?

regularsaver1

Somerset wrote: »

Curious about something

I transferred online large sum of money into my Lloyds account - no questions.
I submitted a large bacs transfer request ( to solicitors ) by hand to Lloyds - I was quizzed by staff - why, what for etc.
I received large sum of money from solicitors into my Lloyds account (bacs ) - No questions.
I transferred this large sum from Lloyds to ING by d/d - no questions from either Lloyds or INg.

So the only time I was asked anything, was when I was physically in the bank talking to a Lloyds member of staff. No phone calls on my machine re the other transactions.

So either a) online transactions aren't verified by the banks or b) these transactions are automatically 'reported' as suspicious by the banks without recourse to a customer explanation. Which is it ?

Waiting now for a swat team to kick down my front door !!!!

As said before face to face and telephone is different as it can come back on the cashier. Also their is monitoring on online accounts, which is why there are certain limits to be able to transfer (sometimes)

Regarding the receipt of money into LLoyds from your solicitors - you won;t be quizzed by Lloyds before receiving this. The solicitors would have had to do their own admin to meet regulations. You would then be quizzed if you went to the branch to draw it out a week later , about where the funds come from. You would also have proof

Ie My boyfriend received £490k this week into his Lloyds account from his solicitors after they managed to get this payout from the defendants of a serious car accident he was involved in. I know the solicitors had to do a lot of paperwork about the transfer of funds.

Now he needs to get the money out of Lloyds (for obvious reasons that you don't want to leave that sum of money in there paying a rubbish rate) but he will have proof of where the money has come from and expects to be asked as this is not a normal amount of money in his account

regularsaver1

stiffnuts69 wrote: »

Exactly

A person who is going to launder money will not deposit a large sum into an account there far to clever for that.

The OP mentioned £4000 deposit hardly big money worth laundering through a bank.

The problem is this £4000 could be £4000 x 40 - in 40 different accounts.

In this case the money was withdrawn a week later so as the account was being used as a feeder/interim accounts, checks need to be made

"
Money laundering is a process whereby the origin of funds generated by illegal means is concealed (drug trafficking, gun smuggling, corruption, etc.). The objective of the operation, which usually takes places in several stages, consists in making the capital and assets that are illegally gained seem as though they are derived from a legitimate source, and inserting them into economic circulation.

Money laundering is not a new phenomenon: it's as old as crime itself. Criminals have always endeavored to conceal the origin of illegally generated funds in order to erase all trace of their wrongdoings. Nevertheless, the forms and dimensions of this type of crime have evolved in recent years. Since the seventies, the escalation of the drug market and globalization of organized crime have led to a collective raised awareness with regard to the problem of money laundering.
Due to its stability, the quality of services offered and its bank secrecy, the Swiss financial hub, like other foreign financial market places, was used by criminals who wished to shield money generated by their illegal activities.

The banks are not the only pawn used to conceal the criminal origin of capital assets.

Since all bank transactions can be reconstituted and the criminal judge can conduct investigations on them, they are not particularly suited for money laundering. That is why money launders tend to operate through fictive companies, casinos, restaurants, jewelry stores, car dealers and art agents, as well as import-export operations."

But because of this banks still have to follow regulations.

http://swiss-bank-accounts.com/e/banking/secrecy/money.laundering.definition.html

sugarcane

Normally i would send £1350.00 Overseas, to do this i would pay myself £1500 via a company cheque. This would be paid in about a week earlier for it to clear.. I never get asked about where the £1500 comes from, so there must be a floor limit on what is deemed to be possible money laundering amounts. It realy does give you the shivers knowing that your every large`ish transaction is being watched..

regularsaver1

Not a floor limit, but under £2000 not as many questions asked

This is the FSA's stance - they do say it is an irritation to customers, but here is a reason it must be done (may have been a few changes as this was 2004)

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/Pages/Library/Communication/Speeches/2004/sp180.shtml

Dylanwing

'And what is the origin of that deposit?'
'Oh, I sold a few kilos of crack and a couple of Kalashnikovs'
Happens all the time!

PaulW922

In theory a transaction for £1 could potentially be laundering and therefore reportable - in reality of course it doesn't happen. Money laundering is all about making the proceeds of crime look legitimate and believe you me, once you have got it into the banking system, you're laughing. It really depends on whether your transaction is unusual for you. If you are asked the source of funds by the bank just tell them. And as Dylanwing says above, do not say something stupid like 'it is from drugs dealing' because the Police (and Customs) can detained your money whilst they investigate its origin!

It isn't 'big brother' stuff as someone above suggests - and you'd really need to be paranoid or have a huge ego to think that the Government is watching your day-to-day banking - it is one of the keystones of the regulation of our financial system. It may be of interest for people to know that the police have now learned they can profile the behaviour of terrorists via the money laundering controls.

The system isn't anywhere near perfect and as mentioned above by some posters who work in banks, most of the transactions that reach the Law enforcement agencies are probably not dodgy, but it does produce results.

What often makes me laugh, when people I know have been mildly inconvenienced by the controls - such as some friends of my parents who had to produce two, yes two, forms of ID to open an ING Direct savings account is how quickly they turn from 'the Government should do more to stop this kind of thing...' to 'yes, but people like us don't launder money!'.

If we knew what criminals looked like it would all be so much easier...

tomstickland

It may be of interest for people to know that the police have now learned they can profile the behaviour of terrorists via the money laundering controls.

If we knew what criminals looked like it would all be so much easier...

Aren't those two statements contradictory?

spurious_2

In a few weeks I'm going to do a transfer from one of my bank accounts to another for three grand, and when it arrives in my second bank account, I'm going to take most of it out again almost immediately. I'm doing this because I'm going travelling and need the money, and the second bank account is the account I'm using as a base for all my travel money (debits and credits). I'm aware this might look dodgy, but if I take in my passport showing the visa to the country I'm travelling to and a print off of my ticket, confirming what I tell them, do you think they'll be satisfied?

momisa

I was quizzed a few years ago about this kind of thing. I ended up really P$$$$d off solely because it was a small branch with a large queue and the cashier asked the questions, and I answered accordingly only for her to speak loudly. I left knowing that everyone in the queue would have known that I was paying in a substantial sum. If such questions need to be asked they should be done quietly and in a manner as to not bring attention to the amount of money and individual concerned.

Far too many people get mugged these days - I was a bag of nerves until I got home thinking of all manner of possibilities.

chica_fi

Our very own :money: presents the most recent money laundering training dvd for uk banks! So you could always ask him what it's all about...