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20250109 Cohort #1 of Central Bank of Ireland’s Innovation Sandbox Programme: ‘Combatting Financial Crime’

9/1/2025

This is not a typology but a relevant piece of news about the fight against financial crime pursued by the Central Bank of Ireland.

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Posted by Peter Oakes

See CompliReg at https://complireg.com/blogs--insights/cohort-1-of-central-bank-of-irelands-innovation-sandbox-programme-combatting-financial-crime for detailed blog

Seven participants of the Central Bank of Ireland’s Innovation Sandbox Programme on ‘Combatting Financial Crime’ are:

1) AMLYZE is building an AML/CFT information-sharing framework that will use structured taxonomies and synthetic data to simplify detecting and preventing fraudulent activities.
2) Expleo Group has developed an anti-SMS fraud solution which installs on mobile phones to combat SMS fraud.
3) Forward Emphasis and Pasabi’s joint innovation will develop and test a Motor Insurance Application Fraud Analytics solution, leveraging AI-driven behavioural analytics, machine learning, and pattern recognition to detect fraud in the pre-sales process.
4) Roseman Labs enables secure, GDPR-compliant collaboration and analysis on sensitive data for regulated industries.
5) Sedicii (hello Rob Leslie) and PTSB Sedicii has partnered with PTSB to create a secure and private collaboration using zero knowledge proofs to verify names and addresses, in real-time, as part of their customer KYC process, using ESB Networks as the authority for address data in Ireland in full compliance with GDPR and which involves no sharing of personal data.
6) TrustElevate.com offers a privacy-preserving solution for verifying parental responsibility and child age.
7) Vidos.Id is developing digital identity verification solutions to help financial institutions verify digital identity documents and wallet-based credentials.

See CompliReg at https://complireg.com/blogs--insights/cohort-1-of-central-bank-of-irelands-innovation-sandbox-programme-combatting-financial-crime for detailed blog

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Trial to go ahead in €355,000 alleged 'romance fraud' case

7/1/2025

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Thank you to our money laundering typology guest contributor who is a senior AFC professional working in Ireland on international financial crime matters. This person freely gives time to source interesting typologies and analyses them for our visitors. Contact us if you would like to do likewise, whether anonymous or credited.

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Posted by Peter Oakes

Trial to go ahead in €355,000 alleged 'romance fraud' case

Summary

i. A 37-year-old father of three from Dublin, has been sent forward for trial, accused of possessing €355,000 in crime proceeds following a "romance fraud" investigation.
ii. The charges include acquiring, possessing, using, or converting €255,472 in a Permanent TSB account between February 2017 and February 2020, and an additional offence of possessing or transferring €100,000 at Fire Financial Services LTD in July 2021.
iii. As part of his bail conditions, the suspect is barred from using dating and matchmaking websites, must reside at his given address, surrender his passport, and not apply for alternative travel documents.

What’s interesting
i. For AML professionals, the following points from this article are particularly notable:

Link Between Romance Fraud and Money Laundering: The case highlights how proceeds of romance fraud—a type of social engineering scam—can be funnelled through financial accounts, demonstrating the critical need for financial institutions to detect unusual patterns in account activity linked to such scams.
Duration and Complexity of Financial Activity: The alleged offences spanned several years and involved significant amounts of money (€355,000), showcasing how fraud schemes can be long-term and require robust transaction monitoring systems to identify suspicious activity.
Non-traditional Financial Institutions: The mention of "Fire Financial Services LTD" underscores the role of fintech and alternative financial service providers in potential laundering activities, emphasizing the importance of enhanced due diligence and risk assessments for such entities.

ii. These points emphasize the importance of vigilance in transaction monitoring, cross-sector collaboration, and public awareness campaigns to prevent and detect such fraud.

Source: https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/trial-go-ahead-romance-fraud-34433615

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Bank kept lending to Lynn years after staff raised alarm about solicitor

5/1/2025

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Posted by Peter Oakes

Bank kept lending to Lynn years after staff raised alarm about solicitor

Summary

i. Michael Lynn, a former solicitor, is accused of defrauding multiple banks of approximately €27 million by obtaining multiple mortgages on the same properties without the banks' knowledge.
ii. The trial, which began in January 2025, is expected to last several weeks, with the prosecution presenting evidence of the alleged fraudulent activities.
iii. Lynn has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his defence team argues that the banks were aware of the multiple mortgages and that the loans were part of legitimate business transactions.

What’s interesting
i. The case of Michael Lynn presents several points of interest for AML professionals:

Exploitation of Lending Practices: The alleged ability to secure multiple mortgages on the same properties highlights potential weaknesses in due diligence and information-sharing practices among financial institutions. AML professionals can draw lessons on the importance of robust interbank communication and verification mechanisms.
Risk of Professional Misconduct: Lynn’s position as a solicitor allegedly provided him with the knowledge and means to orchestrate these transactions. This underscores the heightened AML risks associated with professionals in positions of trust and the need for enhanced scrutiny of such individuals.
Lack of Robust Controls: The case demonstrates how insufficient or fragmented oversight across institutions can enable large-scale fraud. AML professionals should focus on improving monitoring frameworks to detect anomalies, such as unusual property or mortgage activity, across institutions.

ii. This case is a reminder of the critical role of strong AML and fraud detection systems in protecting financial institutions from high-risk schemes involving trusted professionals.

Source: https://extra.ie/2025/01/05/news/irish-news/bank-lending-michael-lynn

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20250109 Cohort #1 of Central Bank of Ireland’s Innovation Sandbox Programme: ‘Combatting Financial Crime’

Trial to go ahead in €355,000 alleged 'romance fraud' case

Bank kept lending to Lynn years after staff raised alarm about solicitor

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