On Thursday the 21st of July 2011 Paul Murray was Jailed for 12 and a half years for a €248,000 social welfare fraud. (See news report below) From an anti money laundering point of view this case is very interesting.
There was €11,000 remaining in the bank accounts at the time of arrest, Although this amount could have been spread over the 7 accounts evenly, Any bank account in receipt of social welfare with a large balance should be considered unsual and investigated.
Mr Murray spent his time travelling the world, To do this he either withdrew his funds in bulk from the bank (Unusual) or used ATM’s in foreign countries (Again unusual for someone who’s only source of income was social welfare)
Mr Murray used false passports to open the bank accounts and claim the social welfare. Current Irish passports have some of the most advanced security features in the world. Bank staff should be trained in the security features of passports.
