videoslots Source of wealth Fraud department!

[mimi26]

Ok so I posted a few weeks ago that I had SOW requested at videoslots and after a bit of a struggle The info I sent was accepted ......(sorry cant remember the thread it was in, anyway kept depositing but thought I would deposit a little less because I CBA with this verification all the time.

On a bit of a losing streak so decided to go on live chat ask for a loyalty chip, fine the CS agents said I will forward to loyalty department.

A few hours late I received an email from support with an attachment of my bank statement with deposits circled asking where they had come from

Coincidence or was it because I asked for a free chip.........

Anyway I emailed them pretty angry asking why on earth my documents where accepted a few weeks ago and a few hours after asking for a free chip all of a sudden they want to know the ins and outs of a ducks arse.

Told them if they suspect I am a money launderer then report me.

Received an email back explaining why they needed it i.e gambling commission blah blah blah so I returned the email stating they had already had all they have requested of me and I wont be sending anymore, I dont need to gamble that much or even stay at videoslots.

Half an hour late I received another email of them but this one was markedly different it came from the fraud department, yes so big header in the email FRAUD DEPARTMENT, is this supposed to scare me? Anyway just a heads up really because it appears they have moved on from locking peoples account who ask for a free chip (Nates thread), it appears they have now decided to go over your source of wealth with a fine tooth comb, something they should have done in the first place!!

I can 100% prove where that money came from but I am sorry but this is just getting ridiculous now.

 

[Borgie]

This is nothing short of appalling.

The thing is where does the chain stop. I pay you money so you say the money came from borgie but where did I get the money from .. so I say my friend ... so where did my friend get it from . Somewhere 50 passes back there may be a scammer laundering money I guess. It's madness.

To me if I give proof money was paid into my bank that's my source of wealth proved. My money to gamble came from my bank which is well stocked with funds ty.

Plus once your source of wealth is approved thst should be it !!

Fraud department I'd have them up for deflatmation of character and false accusations. If your bank are happy with the way you fund your account then casinos can do one.

Maybe it really is time to stop gambling.

 

[Dan.Videoslots]

Hi Mimi26,

I have sent you a PM.

Br,
Daniel.

 

[mimi26]

This is nothing short of appalling.

The thing is where does the chain stop. I pay you money so you say the money came from borgie but where did I get the money from .. so I say my friend ... so where did my friend get it from . Somewhere 50 passes back there may be a scammer laundering money I guess. It's madness.

To me if I give proof money was paid into my bank that's my source of wealth proved. My money to gamble came from my bank which is well stocked with funds ty.

Plus once your source of wealth is approved thst should be it !!

Fraud department I'd have them up for deflatmation of character and false accusations. If your bank are happy with the way you fund your account then casinos can do one.

Maybe it really is time to stop gambling.

Actually you make a good point there about the line of money and where it comes from. I am 45 years old, I work as a nurse, I have never as much as received a parking ticket and I honestly feel like we are being treated as criminals just because we want to gamble

 

[colinsunderland]

Hi Mimi26,

I have sent you a PM.

Br,
Daniel.

Why are you sending emails implying something fraudulent is going on? Why weren't any issues with SoW documents picked up weeks ago when the documents were originally sent in, surely if you had queries they should have been checked then and the account locked. If you suspect money laundering then you shouldn't allow extra deposits.

 

[dunover]

The only thing Mimi launders is her nurse's uniform. Jesus.

 

[Dan.Videoslots]

Hello Colinsunderland.

I cannot discuss or comment on anything regarding the contacts made on Casinomeister.

A Source of Wealth investigation is nothing that simply stops once we receive a requested document but an ongoing process to make sure we are compliant with the regulations put in place.

Best regards,
Daniel.

 

[goatwack]

I'm completely at ease providing VS proof of how I launder my money

 

[colinsunderland]

Hello Colinsunderland.

I cannot discuss or comment on anything regarding the contacts made on Casinomeister.

A Source of Wealth investigation is nothing that simply stops once we receive a requested document but an ongoing process to make sure we are compliant with the regulations put in place.

Best regards,
Daniel.

Sorry but I take issue with that. You get a bank statement, its approved, ie you check and accept the information is enough for you to be satisfied that the funds are legitimate. You cannot then, weeks later, suddenly decide, oh no they aren't. If they were fine 3 weeks ago then they should be fine now, unless someone didn't do their job properly weeks ago.

I don't understand why certain casinos are still doing what they are. I have yet to see a single report of SoW requests from UK based bookmakers (for 'normal' customers), who have to abide by the same rules, and have many many more customers than most casinos based abroad.

 

[ed skull murphy]

They are losing the plot.

 

[mimi26]

Just received an email from them with the usual, we need this info to comply etc etc,

then asking if the payments were inheritance, gifts etc

Not one single explanation of why after the initial emails they sent one from the fraud department, and I am sorry but this is the issue for me, so I refused to comply and their answer is sending an email from fraud!

Sorry but this is only done to achieve one thing and thats give people a fright

And if it was just SOW request again this thread would not have seen the light of day but when that fraud email came I was furious

P.S also said it was nothing to do with asking for a bonus...........sorry I dont but it

 

[colinsunderland]

I don't know about others but I've dropped my deposits massively at all casinos who tend to go over the top on this type of thing, now I just really play at SkyVegas, WilliamHill, and to a lesser extent Coral and BetVictor. I can play most games I play at those, certainly the ones I play most often, and I know I'm not going to be asked for wills and shit if I dare to deposit £25.

 

[ed skull murphy]

Just received an email from them with the usual, we need this info to comply etc etc,

then asking if the payments were inheritance, gifts etc

Not one single explanation of why after the initial emails they sent one from the fraud department, and I am sorry but this is the issue for me, so I refused to comply and their answer is sending an email from fraud!

Sorry but this is only done to achieve one thing and thats give people a fright

And if it was just SOW request again this thread would not have seen the light of day but when that fraud email came I was furious

P.S also said it was nothing to do with asking for a bonus...........sorry I dont but it

The first whiff of BS that I get from a casino is enough for me to close the account. I refuse to play their games.

 

[shadow123]

One thing I dont like about VS is that perfectly reasonable requests to reward a player after a bad run seems to result in
the player "having a gambling problem" or in this case SOW/AML requests.Time was when most casinos accepted
that it was in their interested to keep the regular players happy.

 

[Dan.Videoslots]

Hello everyone.

Asking for a bonus has no effect on SoW/AML requests, it simply comes down to coincidence.

Best regards,
Daniel.

 

[greylady]

One thing I dont like about VS is that perfectly reasonable requests to reward a player after a bad run seems to result in
the player "having a gambling problem" or in this case SOW/AML requests.Time was when most casinos accepted
that it was in their interested to keep the regular players happy.

I didn't ask for anything, I never have and never will of any casino but got accused of exactly the same for expressing my discontent on here - why don't they just say 'SHUT UP'

 

[dunover]

If any of you wonder why I stay at Casumo and rarely play elsewhere, it's because I'm SOW-Verified there! Yes, they have all the slots I want aside from Leander but if you remember I was one of the first to go through this crapola and I posted about it. It took 45 minutes but without help from the 'ambassador' chap it would have taken days of to-and-froing. I just can't face the stress and bollocks over again, so I stick where I'm safe and won't now get held over a barrel and ass-fisted when I want to make a withdrawal.

 

[colinsunderland]

If any of you wonder why I stay at Casumo and rarely play elsewhere, it's because I'm SOW-Verified there! Yes, they have all the slots I want aside from Leander but if you remember I was one of the first to go through this crapola and I posted about it. It took 45 minutes but without help from the 'ambassador' chap it would have taken days of to-and-froing. I just can't face the stress and bollocks over again, so I stick where I'm safe and won't now get held over a barrel and ass-fisted when I want to make a withdrawal.

Exactly how I feel
On speaking to a couple of people I know at skybet and another bookies, neither have any plans to start blanket requesting customers as some casinos are now, which begs the question, if reps are saying they have to, then why do others say different .

 

[dunover]

There has to be a better trigger, a formula set out. It would need to relate net deposits to withdrawals for example. It's possible that a player could deposit 50 quid once, withdraw 5k and then over the coming months deposit bigger amounts (sourced from this win) and if withdrawing sensibly could 'turn over' tens of thousands which would in no way relate to their income that funded the 50 quid initial deposit. The same player loses 50, then deposits thousands over the coming period without making a w/d would be an entirely different cause for concern. I can see the casinos' predicament here but turnover is vanity, losses are sanity.

 

[mack341]

There are some recentish news articles about money laundering and malta on the web, perhaps the decent online casinos are making double the effort so that no criticism can be directed at them, it definitely feels like over the top to me but reading this on reuters [nov17] and perhaps it starts to make sense:

"The European Union has called very publicly for Malta to bring to justice the killers of a journalist who accused the Mediterranean island’s leaders of profiting from global corruption.

But it has for years been much less vocal — and had little success — in ensuring Malta act to prevent money laundering, according to sources familiar with the work of the Maltese authorities and a Reuters review of EU and Maltese data.

The data show the smallest EU state has been slow to apply international guidelines on naming firms that do not take action against dubious practices, and the number of convictions and sanctions for money laundering has been low.

Malta has also consistently registered fewer reports of “suspect transactions” from banks, casinos and other financial operators than any other EU state, according to the data, despite having a disproportionately large financial sector.

The European Parliament urged the European Commission, the EU’s executive, on Wednesday to investigate Malta’s adherence to the rule of law and voiced “serious concerns” about police independence and international money-laundering on the island. [L8N1NL4LI]

But criticism of Malta on money laundering — in low-key reports by international supervisory bodies and by anti-corruption campaigner Daphne Caruana Galizia, killed by a car bomb on Oct. 16 — appears so far to have had little impact.


“Malta has sold its sovereignty to dirty money. The European Commission should take a more active role in investigating the condition of rule of law in Malta,” Sven Giegold, a member of European Parliament from Germany’s Greens party who campaigns against financial crime, told Reuters.

He said an international investigator was needed to counter a “culture of impunity and fiddling between political and economic elites” in Malta.

 

[goatwack]

Can't go around letting customers close their accounts left right and centre, how is that sustainable exactly.

Surely better to take a softer approach with this lest no one is left around to play.....

On the other hand, customers put off by this merry dance they're being led on, and choosing to close their accounts are simply validating the casinos' demands, which makes them think they've done a wonderfully thorough job, and the person is indeed, hiding something

Better casinos try to work with us, not against us. We're not the bad guy

 

[colinsunderland]

Let's not forget, anyone getting a sow request is deemed to be a high risk of being involved in criminal activities.

 

[ed skull murphy]

Let's not forget, anyone getting a sow request is deemed to be a high risk of being involved in criminal activities.

Mimi, have you been stealing morphine out of the medicine cabinet?

 

[Reelsoffun]

I don't know about others but I've dropped my deposits massively at all casinos who tend to go over the top on this type of thing, now I just really play at SkyVegas, WilliamHill, and to a lesser extent Coral and BetVictor. I can play most games I play at those, certainly the ones I play most often, and I know I'm not going to be asked for wills and shit if I dare to deposit £25.

I doubt your alone on that tactic of cutting down, Bet its gonna be quite widespread in the following months I know i have cut down and even closed accounts on ones that I just know are going to give me trouble...

 

[nikantw]

We have seen all the regulations and guidelines from UKGC. It is perfectly clear what they say: "Consider all payers ML criminals and problem gamblers."
Now some casinos take that literally, to be safe. Others don't, but risk a fine like 32Red. As simple as that.

From the casinos that want to be safe, anything or nothing can trigger a first SOW. And after that anything can trigger additional checks. It is there in the regulations from UKGC.
We have no privacy and we have to live with that, unfortunately.

 

[ed skull murphy]

We have seen all the regulations and guidelines from UKGC. It is perfectly clear what they say: "Consider all payers ML criminals and problem gamblers."
Now some casinos take that literally, to be safe. Others don't, but risk a fine like 32Red. As simple as that.

From the casinos that want to be safe, anything or nothing can trigger a first SOW. And after that anything can trigger additional checks. It is there in the regulations from UKGC.
We have no privacy and we have to live with that, unfortunately.

Hang on a minute, weren't those guys fined for accepting an average £45,000 in deposits per month from the same losing player? That is hardly comparable to anyone posting their woes on here.

 

[deepsky2]

In my opinion, I feel like a criminal at times playing online casinos especially Video slots no one treats you like a person anymore, certainly not a valued customer. An example I had a back charge 3 weeks over 2 small deposits. Been depositing almost every day for almost 3 years and instead of cs contacting me or even send a email I found my account locked and basically accused of fraud. It was Istadebit fault even they accused me fraud but it was an error on their end which insisted and finally got an apology from Instadebit which I forward to Videoslots.

Reading all this makes me feel sick, it doesn't even seem fun anymore. Looking at these post I feel like I'm reading a newspaper of crimes.

Seems little interaction on a good note from casinos no more emails from VIP department, no gratitude the only time you hear from them is if they feel your doing something criminal.

Wish they stop policing and go back to being a casino...

 

[mimi26]

Mimi, have you been stealing morphine out of the medicine cabinet?

no but I can tell you, I reached for the Valium once that fraud email arrived

 

[colinsunderland]

We have seen all the regulations and guidelines from UKGC. It is perfectly clear what they say: "Consider all payers ML criminals and problem gamblers."
Now some casinos take that literally, to be safe. Others don't, but risk a fine like 32Red. As simple as that.

From the casinos that want to be safe, anything or nothing can trigger a first SOW. And after that anything can trigger additional checks. It is there in the regulations from UKGC.
We have no privacy and we have to live with that, unfortunately.

Where does the guidance show any of that?
You also seem to be lumping AML and RG together when they have to be kept separate.

@mimi26 was this money laundering or responsible gaming related?

 

[nikantw]

Hang on a minute, weren't those guys fined for accepting an average £45,000 in deposits per month from the same losing player? That is hardly comparable to anyone posting their woes on here.

When we at CM took a closer look, it wasn't that simple.
32Red could do better, but all the report from UKGC said was tha same "consider all players guilty".

 

[Hans60]

Few years back I was asked to send in SOW. First I send in screenshots of my Skrill account that I used for my deposits.
It wasn't good enough, not enough information. They asked proof that I made deposit to my Skrill account.
I sent in my bank statement showing these deposits. Well...Not enough. They still didn't know from where all this money came from.
After this I had to sent in basically screenshots of my every poker from last years tournament winnings starting from 5k.
It was a mess, but after this they accepted my documents.

Everything started after I decided to play only on this site, so instead of playing in multiple sites I went all in for this one site. Ofc they spotted that my deposits went up for 60%.
Im also sure that they are running proper investigations with players, so @mimi26 if your facebook or linkedin shows that you are a nurse and you are still pushing money in for example 10k/week they will spot this and they will need this SOW for sure.

 

[mimi26]

Where does the guidance show any of that?
You also seem to be lumping AML and RG together when they have to be kept separate.

@mimi26 was this money laundering or responsible gaming related?

Money laundering, going by the email I got

 

[colinsunderland]

Money laundering, going by the email I got

Wonder why the fraud department are looking at it then as AML documents must ONLY be used for AML purposes. The guidance is extremely clear on that.

 

[nikantw]

Where does the guidance show any of that?
You also seem to be lumping AML and RG together when they have to be kept separate.

Mostly here Old / Expired Link

And in other posts here Rizk Source of Wealth Bullshit!

Things like this:

"it is perfectly plausible that an individual attempting to launder money could also be a problem gambler"
"Will your policies identify at risk customers who may not be displaying obvious signs of, or overt behaviour associated with, problem gambling?"
"one or more low risk factors may not always indicate that there is a low risk of money laundering and terrorist financing"
"A customer spends little, but often, ....This could indicate potential money laundering"
"Operators should be aware that there is no minimum financial threshold for the management and reporting of known or suspected money laundering or terrorist financing activity. "

And I missed the best one that says something like "have all those alerts but do the same to people that don't trigger any of them"

 

[sufferinsilence]

Mostly here Old / Expired Link

And in other posts here Rizk Source of Wealth Bullshit!


"A customer spends little, but often, ....This could indicate potential money laundering"

So if I deposit €10 3 times a day and cashout €28 for a month straight they might think I'm laundering money?

 

[deepsky2]

In my opinion, I feel like a criminal at times playing online casinos especially Video slots no one treats you like a person anymore, certainly not a valued customer. An example I had a back charge 3 weeks over 2 small deposits. Been depositing almost every day for almost 3 years and instead of cs contacting me or even send a email I found my account locked and basically accused of fraud. It was Istadebit fault even they accused me fraud but it was an error on their end which insisted and finally got an apology from Instadebit which I forward to Videoslots.

Reading all this makes me feel sick, it doesn't even seem fun anymore. Looking at these post I feel like I'm reading a newspaper of crimes.

Seems little interaction on a good note from casinos no more emails from VIP department, no gratitude the only time you hear from them is if they feel your doing something criminal.

Wish they stop policing and go back to being a casino...

Btw I must mention even though my account was locked I was allowed to deposit $50 but was unable to play on top of that I received a weekend booster with a balance of almost $100 I still was not able to play. After a few days Videoslots took the back charge out of my account as balance dropped to around $25 then I was able to play, but Instadebit also removed the funds out of my account and paid to Videoslots so I have almost $70 owed to me but that's ok this is considered a mistake but if it was on my end it would be criminal. Going on 4 weeks still missing about $70 in funds but that's ok???

 

[Dan.Videoslots]

Hello deepsky2,

I have sent you a PM.

Br,
Daniel.

 

[mimi26]

Ok update,

I have requested my account closed, I did tell them where the money come from first though just in case they thought I was throwing a few pennies at ISIS or al qaeda, about half an hour after the email was sent I received an email of 'loyalty' telling me they could give me 20 free spins on volcano riches, (so this is obviously from the bonus I asked for), anyway i thought I would log in and play them see how much they are worth, ......20p a spin .

As far as I am concerned thats the end of the matter for me, unless of course I get a visit from the police or counter terrorism unit!

 

[mimi26]

Wonder why the fraud department are looking at it then as AML documents must ONLY be used for AML purposes. The guidance is extremely clear on that.

god knows, but I only received the fraud email after I told them I was not willing to send any more info, is all they are missing is my bra size....

I thought if someone refused to send info they just closed the account and moved on, I honestly do feel this email was sent as a scare tactic and I have tbh it worked on me, not because I am guilty obviously but how scary it is that you can basically be considered a suspect in a crime just for wanting to play at a casino

 

[shadow123]

Sorry to be blunt, why penalise UK players because Malta has ML problems.

 

[nutnut]

these casinos are stupid. not one bookmaker has asked me but i never deposit at rizk or videoslots or guts due to this. i know many others doing same. suicide by these cainos. have to be a fool to play with them now.

 

[goatwack]

Exactly....why bother laundering money in heavily- regulated markets, when every business on the planet takes their money offshore to some tinpot island with laws as porous as Swiss cheese?

In the average Joe's case, run the risk of cleaning my money through casinos here (say, £100) and then funnel that back to my criminal syndicate. To fund terrorism....

Yerrrr

Gotcha

 

[mimi26]

Mostly here Old / Expired Link

And in other posts here Rizk Source of Wealth Bullshit!

Things like this:

"it is perfectly plausible that an individual attempting to launder money could also be a problem gambler"
"Will your policies identify at risk customers who may not be displaying obvious signs of, or overt behaviour associated with, problem gambling?"
"one or more low risk factors may not always indicate that there is a low risk of money laundering and terrorist financing"
"A customer spends little, but often, ....This could indicate potential money laundering"
"Operators should be aware that there is no minimum financial threshold for the management and reporting of known or suspected money laundering or terrorist financing activity. "

And I missed the best one that says something like "have all those alerts but do the same to people that don't trigger any of them"

Someone was paid thousands to write that shit, one thing I dont understand is how can someone be laundering money through a casino if they never or rarely withdraw,

I just dont understand how money laundering works in the casino business.......or do I :-D

 

[colinsunderland]

Someone was paid thousands to write that shit, one thing I dont understand is how can someone be laundering money through a casino if they never or rarely withdraw,

I just dont understand how money laundering works in the casino business.......or do I :-D

Funnily enough, Videoslots who are so harsh on customers in the name of moneylaundering are actually one of the easiest to launder money through due to how they make you withdraw. Most casinos (who make you withdraw back to the same card) are almost impossible to launder through. Wonder why Dan never comments on that aspect of it all.

It isn't just money laundering though, its to prevent proceeds of crime being used too.

 

[vinylweatherman]

This is becoming a farce. At some point it's impossible for the customer to comply when the request chains back to several transactions ago, and it's not in the remit of the customer to be able to prove anything more than what is listed on their bank statement.
Odd too that in this case they questioned the SAME bank statement that they had already cleared, there was nothing new at all, other than the fact that the player deposited and lost again and then asked for a free chip. This might just be an RG concern, but this is supposed to be a separate matter from AML, and the Fraud department is not the right place to be running RG checks from, unless the staff are highly multi-skilled.

Are we going to end up getting asked to prove where our employer got the funds from to pay our wages, and then ask the customers of the employer to prove where they got the money from to pay for the products that are sold to provide the money to pay staff wages. Sounds laughable, but this actually happened to one player who was self employed!!!

 

[ladyhawke]

To me if I give proof money was paid into my bank that's my source of wealth proved. My money to gamble came from my bank which is well stocked with funds ty.
Plus once your source of wealth is approved thst should be it !!
If your bank are happy with the way you fund your account then casinos can do one.
Maybe it really is time to stop gambling.

I posted much the same thing in another SOW related thread. BUT....read the very end of this post for some very disturbing revelations.

I'm completely at ease providing VS proof of how I launder my money

Money Launderers Inc. eh?

You get a bank statement, its approved, ie you check and accept the information is enough for you to be satisfied that the funds are legitimate. You cannot then, weeks later, suddenly decide, oh no they aren't. If they were fine 3 weeks ago then they should be fine now, unless someone didn't do their job properly weeks ago.

Doesn't that mean the casino was illegally taking deposits during that period?

There are some recentish news articles about money laundering and malta on the web, perhaps the decent online casinos are making double the effort so that no criticism can be directed at them, it definitely feels like over the top to me but reading this on reuters [nov17] and perhaps it starts to make sense:

Malta has also consistently registered fewer reports of “suspect transactions” from banks, casinos and other financial operators than any other EU state, according to the data, despite having a disproportionately large financial sector.

It isn't just money laundering though, its to prevent proceeds of crime being used too.

As I mentioned above, if my bank, as a regulated financial institution, is happy with the source of my funds, then why does a tin-pot casino, which is NOT a regulated financial institution, and one that I play at purely for recreational purposes, think it has the right to all of my financial transaction details relating to my life?

Well...I guess the answer could lie with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia's recent $700million fine for ML, for "allowing millions of dollars to flow through to drug importers".

So it is not only Malta that has a dubious record for non-reporting of "suspect transactions' from banks, casinos, as well as other financial operators. Perhaps Malta (and now Australia) are only the tip of a very nasty iceberg.

Most of our funds for any type of transaction, recreational or otherwise, come directly from bank accounts, from either a debit or credit card, or filtered through from a bank account to fund Paypal, Skrill, Neteller, etc.

The actual source of those bank account funds might be from Employers, business transactions, online sales, etc, but sooner or later, they have to be paid into a bank account, so I wonder if eventually, in order to clean up their act, SOWs from banks will be the next to hit us.

 

[vinylweatherman]

I have had the SoW from Neteller, twice! What irked me though was that they could easily verify the source as it was withdrawals from casinos they considered suitable holders of merchant accounts. They were at least satisfied with my statement that it was "recycled winnings", I withdrew to the bank when my Neteller balance was high, and sometimes put the funds back when the balance fell.

What I did NOT get though was demands for endless documents from the storage bank account and all other tranactions between the big wins and the current time.

What seems to have changed now is that the current crop of SoW requests can end up involving loads of documents, and often the casinos are never satisfied, even with documents they have already cleared. Some are even asking for things that don't exist, like this "winner's certificate" that casinos are supposedly issuing to players. I have never had one, not even for 5 figure wins.

What I find interesting though in this case is that the SoW came along when the player didn't have a withdrawal held to ransom, and looked like they were going to just walk away from the account, so they used the fraud department to send such a scary letter that the player complied with their request. I wonder what position it puts casinos in of a losing player just walks away from an empty account rather than jumping through the SoW hoops. Does the casino have to surrender the money it just won from said player because they have marked them for an SoW request, but have not been able to complete it to satisfy themselves that they have won legitimate funds from the player.

 

[mack341]

I posted much the same thing in another SOW related thread. BUT....read the very end of this post for some very disturbing revelations.


Money Launderers Inc. eh?


Doesn't that mean the casino was illegally taking deposits during that period?




As I mentioned above, if my bank, as a regulated financial institution, is happy with the source of my funds, then why does a tin-pot casino, which is NOT a regulated financial institution, and one that I play at purely for recreational purposes, think it has the right to all of my financial transaction details relating to my life?

Well...I guess the answer could lie with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia's recent $700million fine for ML, for "allowing millions of dollars to flow through to drug importers".

So it is not only Malta that has a dubious record for non-reporting of "suspect transactions' from banks, casinos, as well as other financial operators. Perhaps Malta (and now Australia) are only the tip of a very nasty iceberg.

Most of our funds for any type of transaction, recreational or otherwise, come directly from bank accounts, from either a debit or credit card, or filtered through from a bank account to fund Paypal, Skrill, Neteller, etc.

The actual source of those bank account funds might be from Employers, business transactions, online sales, etc, but sooner or later, they have to be paid into a bank account, so I wonder if eventually, in order to clean up their act, SOWs from banks will be the next to hit us.

I wonder if all this SOW business is an extension of the move to a cashless society, on recent trips to the supermarket it was hard to find a self service till that accepted cash.

At the stage where we only have a digital currency [electronic money rather than paper notes] can we really call it the 'pound' ? I think then we'd be at the start of one electronic currency for the whole world, remember all journeys begin with the first few steps.

Just found a relevant article on the 'investopedia' website, some quotes:

"In March of 2009, U.S.

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Timothy Geithner let it slip that he was "quite open" to the idea of an eventual move toward a global currency run by the

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."

The Downfalls
The most obvious downfall to the introduction of a global currency would be the loss of independent

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to regulate national economies. For example, in the recent economic crisis in the United States, the Federal Reserve was able to lower interest rates to unprecedented levels and increase the

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in order to stimulate

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. These actions served to lessen the severity of the

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in the United States.

Under a global currency, this type of aggressive management of a national economy would not be possible. Monetary policy could not be enacted on a country by country basis. Rather, any change in monetary policy would have to be made at the worldwide level.

There is another article that links to Geithner's original remarks on the guardian [2009]

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I think there are definitely plans afoot, but it will be slowly slowly [50 years?] so as to meet no resistance from the public.

 

[ternur]

I wonder if all this SOW business is an extension of the move to a cashless society, on recent trips to the supermarket it was hard to find a self service till that accepted cash.

Cash is harder to trace. Sweden is on their way to a cashless society while the likes of Germany and US really like cold hard cash in their hands.

It's easier to implement harder AML rules when funds can be electronically traced. For a long time billions have been laundered through shell companies and real estate (see e.g.

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). Not to mention the banking system. The benefial ownership registries are coming and IMO they will be more effective in combating financial crime than most other current AML tools.

In AML landscape, the SOW is a method used "to establish if the person under investigation spent far more money during a set period of time than is legally available to them" (the Source and Application Method). KYC in AML compliance is in many ways secondary to SOW. A casino must understand where to funds originate and the player is responsible for showing legitimate source/s of funds or wealth.

A nanny state version of this comes when the licensing regulators bundle ML and RG together and make it a part of the licensing conditions. From the casinos' POV it really doesn't make any difference. On the players' side it seems like serious overkill. And why wouldn't it? It's intrusive and nobody likes to be obligated to prove their innocence.

IMO the legislators and regulators have not taken in account the key aspects of gambling. Some of the KYC/AML triggers and thresholds relate to the amount of wagering and level of deposits, but the timeframes these are applied to are not that well suited when it comes to gambling activities.

 

[ed skull murphy]

I wonder if all this SOW business is an extension of the move to a cashless society, on recent trips to the supermarket it was hard to find a self service till that accepted cash.

I think there are definitely plans afoot, but it will be slowly slowly [50 years?] so as to meet no resistance from the public.

It'll probably happen just as soon as Syria and Iran have been invaded and had their gold reserves stolen, after they have been hooked up with the IMF and declared bankrupt.

Well...I guess the answer could lie with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia's recent $700million fine for ML, for "allowing millions of dollars to flow through to drug importers".

These little misdemeanours are not meant to see the light of day, they usually emerge by accident when an unwitting employee or officer blows the whistle.

Certain gangs and banks have carte blanche to smuggle their drugs and launder the cash.