Financial accounts provided to others can open the door to criminal chains

While those who allow their financial accounts to be used by third parties may be part of a criminal chain, the obligors who mediate these transactions also have many responsibilities, from taking appropriate measures to closely monitoring the transactions.

The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) Presidency of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance prepared the "Combating Rental Accounts Suspicious Transaction Reporting Guide" in order to prevent the use of rented accounts in criminal activities, to identify the risks in this field at an early stage and to increase the quality of suspicious transaction reports.

According to the information compiled by the AA correspondent from the guide, the use of financial accounts by people other than their owners can make the account owner a link in a chain through which the proceeds of crime are transferred.

Financial instruments that can be considered within the scope of a rental account are discussed from a broad perspective, including bank, payment and electronic money accounts, commercial accounts and POS and virtual POS connections, accounts with crypto asset service providers and other financial accounts or payment instruments depending on the nature of the concrete event.

Such accounts can be used in the financial aspects of various crimes, especially fraud and illegal betting and gambling.

Having an account does not only mean sharing IBAN. Transferring mobile banking passwords, debit card and card password information, and single-use verification codes also leaves control of the account to others.

Accounts belonging to real persons stand out as one of the most commonly used tools in rental account structures.

In addition to openly making a rental offer, different methods can be used in the accounts, from a fee or commission offer to a simple request made through social media.

Pay attention to requests from others

Obtaining an account can also be done via social media and messaging applications.

Simple requests such as "You want money in your account, send it to me" or "I will use your card for a short time" made through friends, relatives, business circles or other social relations can lead people to have their accounts used by third parties.

In these matters, there are certain obligations for banks, payment and electronic money institutions, crypto asset service providers and other obliged parties within the framework of the relevant legislation.

In the fight against rented accounts, the main goal is not only to detect these accounts and suspicious transactions, but also to prevent the financial system from being used in criminal activities.

Within the scope of the relevant legislation, many obligations are imposed on the obliged parties in question, such as obtaining sufficient information about the purpose of the transaction, constantly monitoring the customer activities, contacting the customer, taking appropriate measures, monitoring the transactions closely, setting limits on the amount and number of transactions, not establishing a business relationship, not performing the transaction, terminating the business relationship, obtaining additional information about the nature and purpose of the business relationship, customer assets and funds, and increasing the number and frequency of controls.

If there are indications that an account is a rental account, the obligor must first conduct an investigation to understand the nature of the suspicion.

It is important to compare the customer's profession, income level, economic or commercial activity and transaction volume.

The purpose of the transactions, the counterparties with whom the transaction is carried out extensively and the customer's relationship with these people must be investigated, and when necessary, the customer must be contacted directly to understand whether he or she has knowledge of the transactions and who actually uses the account.

Mobile and internet banking channels may be closed

If the use of a rental account is detected or there are strong indications, it is important to consider closing or limiting mobile and internet banking channels, which enable the account to be used remotely by third parties, among the priority measures.

Depending on the nature of the incident, stopping debit card, POS and virtual POS services, reducing transaction limits, not allocating new financial products and monitoring customer-related accounts more frequently may also be on the agenda.

If the risk persists, the customer's explanations are insufficient, or it is understood that the account is actually managed by third parties, the transaction should not be carried out and, if necessary, the business relationship should be terminated.

Failure to comply with obligations may also lead to judicial proceedings, depending on the nature of the concrete incident.

When the act, the nature of the crime, and the knowledge and will of the people concerned are evaluated together, judicial processes may come to the fore if the transactions are knowingly and willingly continued by the culprit, despite the known rental account networks containing funds resulting from the crime.

Mere violation of administrative obligations or the presence of objective risk indicators do not alone lead to criminal liability.