When it comes to money laundering, there’s no duping solicitors at magic circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Speaking on ‘red flags’ at this year’s Legalex event in London, Freshfields’ global head of anti-money laundering Suzie Ogilvie recalled the time her team discovered an individual claiming to be in possession of US government bonds worth a remarkable $3 trillion. It turned out the bonds were fake and had to be sent to the US Secret Service.

Another client claimed to have a contract with a ‘major UK plc’. They didn’t count on solicitors – already suspicious that they hadn’t heard of the company – noticing that the dialling code for the Japan office on its website was in fact not the dialling code for Japan.

 

Topics