BEWARE THE BANK CLIENT WITH NO INTERNET FOOTPRINT

Readers of my thousands of financial crime articles, when I was the Financial Crime Consultant for World-Check, may not know that, previously, I was a contributor of articles to Complinet. During that time, I was a compliance officer, working on enhanced due diligence matters, for a major American investment firm.

One prospective client, who wished to invest $500,000, was himself a financial adviser, claiming to invest his own funds. I proceeded to conduct my inquiries; He was an Anglo-Uruguayan, with offices in Montevideo. Outside of his business website, I could not any Internet footprint, which was a red flag of the highest order.

I have been trolling the Internet for evidence of client business or social activity, since it became a useful resource, around the year 1993 or 1994. Clients with significant amounts of money to invest must also be spending their money on business or pleasure. find it online:

I always ask myself these questions:

(1) Is there evidence that he is involved in other businesses ?
(2) Does he contribute to charities or non-profits, and show up on the party circuit for those events ?
(3) Does he have an interest in sports or hobbies, and does he sponsor any of these avocations ?
(4) Does he have an interest, no matter how small, in social media ?
(5) Is he a collector, whether of arts & antiques, fine art, classic cars, yachts, aircraft, or something else ?
(6) Are there any articles about him, his company, or his accomplishments ?

If an Internet search fails to reveal any of the above, and he is a ghost online, there something you are missing ? Is he merely a front for someone or something more sinister ? Is he a career criminal ? The lack of any information, such as appears generally for any affluent individual in legitimate business, means you have a major problem.

In the present case, when the Internet failed to return any information, I searched the databases of the world's major newspapers, and found an entry where the target had offered to post an estate, to obtain a bond for a fugitive Mexican drug trafficker in Australia. He was obviously unsuitable as a client, and I rejected him, but the takeaway here is that everyone has an Internet footprint, we all do, and the lack of one speaks volumes about your target.

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WANTED SA kindly thanks US Treasury, Kenneth Rijock, AFP, Reuters, BBC, Associated Press, DEA, FBI, ICE, Westlaw, Arutz Sheva, and all the Parties, Press, Journalists, Law Enforcement and Securities forces who have contributed to the many articles and their sincere opinions and statements.

WANTED SA states that the facts and opinions stated in this article are those of the author and not those of WANTED SA. We do not warrant the accuracy of any of the facts and opinions stated in this article nor do we endorse them or accept any form of responsibility for the articles.