A bit tragicomic, but it is a rather apt comment on an actual incident in Italy, where the mafia infiltrated a courthouse in the town of Potenza by selling coffee in the cafe.

“They were in our house”, said Francesco Curcio, Chief prosecutor in Potenza, after the disclosure that the local mafia family had used the cafe, in the sacred building of the law, to cover up potential money laundering and to sniff out confidential information.*

Don’t put the keys in the wrong hands

Ouch! One cannot help but think that those responsible for handing over the cafe keys to the mob would wish they had started with a more thorough background check on the family.

This story from real life tells us how important it is to check who your customers are and with whom you collaborate. Yes, know-your-customer procedures may seem unnecessarily cumbersome. Still, they must ensure that we do not invite anyone inside to abuse that access and trust to launder money, finance terror or other crimes.

Close the loopholes with efficient KYC

If you want to avoid supporting financial crime, which also jeopardises your security and law obedience, make sure to close the loopholes in your KYC processes.

Smell the coffee – in time

Acting in good faith is unfortunately not sufficient under the Anti-Money Laundering Directive. With errors or deficiencies in your procedure, you risk paying for other people’s shady business. Then it is better to get control of the necessary customer due diligence measures on time.

We can help you with this. NewBanking’s platform automates a wide range of necessary processes and makes your know-your-customer procedures safer and more efficient. If you have customers in Italy or other countries abroad, NewBanking’s platform can help you verify foreign passports, you can do PEP and sanctions scans, and monitor company data.

What you can do now

Brew a good cup of coffee.
Contact us to let us improve your compliance performance.
Let’s meet over a coffee.
We are always delighted to have an informal conversation with you.