Underground finance ids

Racketeering

Racketeering is when a criminal offers the solution to a non-existent problem, or a problem that the criminal has created. A common example is the protection racket where a business pays for "protection" from a criminal so it isn't damaged.

P.E.P.

A politically exposed person is someone who is a political leader or has some sort of relationship with one, i.e. family or close aide. They are considered to be a greater risk of things like bribery or corruption, so banks should watch their transactions more carefully.

Transparency International

A private organization that compiles statistics about corruption in countries around the world, and releases an annual report ranking countries by corruption.

KYC

Know Your Customer refers to the information financial institutions should know about the background of their clients, such as how they get their money. Knowing about clients background will help prevent financial crimes and protect banks from risk, and is required by US Law

OFCs

Offshore Financial Centers are usually small jurisdictions, such as the Cayman Islands, that specialize in offering corporate and financial services to non-resident companies or individuals. Usually these jurisdictions feature no, or low, tax rates and have high degrees of bank secrecy.

"Smurfing"

Smurfing, also known as structuring, is the practice of carrying out several smaller financial transactions, including sometimes with multiple people, to avoid bank suspicion, or to go over automatic reporting levels.

SARs

Suspicious Activity Reports are forms that financial institutions are required to fill out to report suspicious activity to the US treasury department. The for is used to report things like suspected money laundering or terrorist financing, and is illegal to tell the client if a report is filed about them.

TIEAs

Tax Information Exchange Agreements are agreements between different countries to share, on request, specific information relating to criminal or civil tax investigations

Bank Secrecy Act

The Bank Secrecy Act requires financial institutions in the US to assist the government detect money laundering. It requires banks to report suspicious activities and to issue a report for each cash transaction exceeding $10,000 daily.

FATF

The Financial Action Task Force is an intergovernmental organization founded by the G7 in 1989 to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

FinCEN

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is a bureau of the US Treasury Department that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, terror finance, and other financial crimes.

FATCA

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act requires US nationals to report their financial accounts that are held in overseas institutions, and requires foreign banks to report the financial details of their American clients.

FCPA

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is a US act that prohibits US companies and companies that do business in the US from offering bribes in foreign countries.

OFAC

The Office of Foreign Assets Control is an agency of the US Treasury Department that administers and enforces US trade sanctions against targeted foreign states, groups, and individuals

RICO statutes

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations act is a US federal law that enables law enforcement to go after criminal bosses. A criminal is eligible to be tried under RICO statutes if they commit at least 2 racketeering activities over 10 years. One notable feature is that it allowed for the government to seize assets used in committing the crime.

Ugland House

Ugland house is a building in the Cayman Island capital of George Town that houses a law firm and is famous for being the legal headquarters of about 180,000 companies.