Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs)

Complicit DNFBPs, including lawyers, accountants, brokers, or trust and company service providers, facilitate intermediary-facilitated transfers by:

• Registering accounts or holding assets in their names on behalf of criminals.
• Structuring entities or trusts that obscure beneficial ownership, complicating due diligence.

Their professional status adds a veneer of legitimacy that hampers financial institutions' ability to detect suspicious activity and trace ultimate beneficiaries.

Lawyers, accountants, or other DNFBPs may be knowingly or unwittingly involved by:

• Facilitating complex arrangements that hide public fund diversions.
• Handling transactions and documentation that obscure beneficial ownership.

Their professional services often lie outside strict financial sector oversight, creating vulnerabilities for financial institutions.

Lawyers, accountants, and corporate service providers within DNFBPs can be exploited to create intricate corporate structures, mask beneficial ownership, and facilitate cross-border transfers. This involvement helps sanctioned individuals or entities circumvent restrictions, rendering financial institutions' customer due diligence processes less effective.

DNFBPs, including trust and company service providers, lawyers, and accountants, assist in forming and maintaining shell companies by:

• Incorporating entities with nominee directors or opaque ownership details.
• Advising on secrecy-friendly jurisdictions and complex corporate structures.

These services hinder financial institutions' efforts to verify beneficial ownership and detect suspicious activity.

Fraudsters impersonate DNFBPs (such as real estate agents or attorneys) to:

• Convince timeshare owners of their professional legitimacy.
• Collect advance fees under the pretense of legal, closing, or marketing costs.

By obtaining victims’ trust through misrepresentation, scammers funnel payments into their accounts, leaving financial institutions processing seemingly valid transactions that are, in reality, part of an elaborate fraud.