Financial news

Five people, including convicted fraudster Neale Rothera, were sentenced for their involvement in a fraud and money laundering scheme which cost banks over £500,000 earlier this week. But with the money unrecoverable, how can this type of situation be avoided in the future? 

Rothera set up four separate businesses which claimed to sell furniture and carpets across Leicestershire in 2012. However, they were later proved to be shams and used as vehicles to commit fraud and money laundering.

The Insolvency Service found that the four companies were fraudulently exploiting invoice factoring agreements to steal money from banks. Typically, invoice factoring enables genuine businesses to access the money tied up in unpaid invoices from banks, instead of waiting 30 to 90 days for payment from their customers.

Insolvency Service revealed the customers these companies claimed to interact with either did not exist or had not traded with them in the manner suggested by the invoices. Once the credit had been successfully secured, the funds were either withdrawn in cash by the defendants or transferred into other accounts. In total, £562,901.64 was never recovered by the banks.

Mark Stephens, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, explained: “Rothera was ably assisted by the others who fronted the companies or helped him launder the fraudulently obtained funds while he acted as a shadow director. None of the individuals involved were exploited or coerced into taking part in this criminal behaviour and we hope these sentences serve a warning to those considering such fraudulent actions.”

While the convictions conclude a successful investigation into this case of fraud, these sentences alone seem unlikely to deter other individuals from exploiting the financial systems in similar ways in the future.

“It’s clear that every year fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated, sometimes executed by highly organised criminal gangs. Whilst there isn’t a silver bullet, it’s important for every firm to keep pace by using the latest detection technology, alongside human intervention, to combat fraud and protect the honest customer,” said Scott Clayton, head of claims fraud at Zurich Insurance.

Countering shell companies

While this case highlights the work done to convict fraudsters in the UK, it appears as though it is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to shell companies being used to launder money.

Alia Mahmud, regulatory affairs practice lead at ComplyAdvantage, the AI-driven financial crime risk data and fraud detection technology provider, reveals the true extent of this issue: “The use of shell companies to launder illicit funds has long been recognised as a growing threat in the UK. Transparency International counts over 2,250 shell companies that were used in corruption and money laundering schemes over the past 25 years (2022 report).

“The Financial Action Task Force points out that money used for illicit purposes could flow through multiple layers of front and shell companies in multiple jurisdictions before withdrawal, with a majority of such cases involving corporations in foreign jurisdictions.

“Although the Corporate Transparency Act requires Companies House to go further than verifying directors etc, and to verify a company’s nature and purpose, it does not stop a fraudster from creating a company to act as a conduit for cleaning dirty money. This can be accomplished by obscuring the source of funds through the creation of false invoices and supplier contracts to give the appearance of legitimacy.

“To identify potential front and shell companies, financial services firms need to actively monitor transaction volumes and frequencies, while examining clients and counterparties for high-risk indicators such as locations of owners and controllers. Advanced AI technologies can help firms create knowledge graphs to build 360-degree client profiles for risk assessment. This can help identify unusual transactions and complex ownership structures, including those in foreign countries considered tax havens.”

Five million red flags

Ted Datta, senior director, financial crime industry practice at Moody’s, also explains how much of an issue shell companies are creating, and the importance of automated solutions to beat them: “The sentencing of five individuals involved in a £500,000 fraud scheme is a stark reminder of the risks posed by the exploitation of legitimate financial tools.

“In this case, the perpetrators manipulated the invoice system by setting up shell companies and falsifying invoices. This allowed the fraudsters to secure agreements with banks and obtain funds without providing genuine services.

“The UK faces the highest incidence globally when it comes to shell companies, with over five million red flags raised in the country alone. As this case demonstrates, even known high-profile fraudsters like Rothera can still bypass the system by enlisting associates to serve as directors of sham companies set up to perpetrate invoice fraud.

“Combatting these persistent challenges requires financial institutions and governments to use cutting-edge automated solutions. Advanced analytics and AI-powered systems can provide valuable insights into risks related to fraud and shell companies, empowering banks to make swift, informed decisions to protect their customers and assets. Only through such robust measures can we effectively counter constantly evolving methods of fraud.”

Identifying every shell company

Maria Opre, senior analyst at EarthWeb, discussed how identifying each shell company earlier is important when preventing this type of fraud in the future: “Identifying these shell companies is critical for stopping fraudsters from abusing the system. Financial institutions must enhance their due diligence to scrutinise new business accounts for potential shell company red flags. Things like a lack of web presence, no physical premises, scattered employee details, and more should prompt deeper vetting.

“At the same time, regulators should explore policies that limit incorporation anonymity and require more transparency from the real parties behind corporations. Public registries of company beneficial ownership could go a long way in countering criminals’ ability to hide behind layers of shell companies.

“Beyond verifying corporations are legitimate, better detecting and acting on suspicious financial activity patterns is paramount. Banks must invest in advanced cybersecurity, AI fraud monitoring, and stringent adherence to money laundering reporting protocols. Communication between banks, law enforcement, and regulators must be seamless when threats arise.

“While innovation has increased financial sector vulnerability in some ways, we have more tools than ever to identify and stop fraudsters from exploiting the system as Rothera did. With the right proactive stance and public-private collaboration, we can make the UK a decidedly harder target for these criminals going forward.”