NEW CONTROVERSY IN MALTA OVER A BAN ON FOREIGN LETTERS IN NAMES REMINDS US OF THE TRICKS MONEY LAUNDERERS USE TO HIDE IN PLAIN SIGHT

Media in the Republic of Malta has recently been covering the issue surrounding the government's intention to ban the public registration of foreign characters in names. BAN ON FOREIGN LETTERS IN NAMES TRIGGERS LEGAL THREAT https://lnkd.in/eSvmcst5 We are reminded of our prior coverage of the problem, in connection with Citizenship by Investment (CIP/CBI) passports: MOST INDIVIDUALS OBTAINING CBI PASSPORTS COME FROM COUNTRIES USING NON-LATIN ALPHABETS REQUIRING FACIAL RECOGNITION SOFTWARE IDENTITY CONFIRMATION. https://lnkd.in/eiqJF23s

We note for compliance officers at international banks that money launderers often choose to substitute a single non-latin letter, accent, or other departure from their original legal name, to confuse and confound database searches, resulting in a negative result for a high-risk individual . They also make such small alterations in corporate names, to confuse compliance officers into thinking that they are dealing with a well-known, legitimate entity, when the opposite is true.

Always pay attention to details when examining an individual or corporate name; does it include diacritical marks not normal to Western European script or typeface? are there one or more letters that are different than the standard Latin alphabet? Laundryman have been known to substitute a single Cyrillic ( Russian) letter, to foil name searching.

Read both of the above articles for important information, please.