A call from bank branch manager over 6k wire...SAR? :)

[newNomad]

Ready for a today's top absurdity?
Top GDP EU country, currently living here and having a bank account with the local bank
People routinely spend 500 euro for a nice restaurant in 4. YET...
The bank branch manager just called me asking information about what appears to be a suspicious activity of mine -
I sent out 6k Eur (Not 6M, but 6k!!!) to an online broker platform (a well known and reputable one). Later after a month I sent back 5k to the same orignating account. Nothing shady: a customer deposits money for online trading, loses some of it and returns the rest back to the source account. Somehow this has been flagged as suspicious - they asked me if I am involved in CRYPTO trading when referring to "online trading". Pointed them out that the broker in question does not even allow crypto trading but only stocks, options, commodities...and the bank manager seemed relieved and said I have helped a lot 😀
To me it seemed they wanted to block the account and send reports out everywhere if a word CRYPTO is pronounced.
Is the EU nuts, microcontrol of peanut transactions and everything suspicious?? I would never imagine an operativity like this getting flagged
Seems they are preparing some superhard crackdown on cryptos...

 

[LondonOTC]

Banks in Europe are terrible, they even ask you about 1000 Eur cash deposit.

For my OTC Business, we hide Crypto transactions under a consultancy business with tax invoices, that's the only way to work with banks with high volume

 

[newNomad]

Ok but I still don't understand how do you go around the tax problem, i.e. you buy crypto and the client pays fiat, you invoice the client but then how to avoid to get the fiat completely hammered by taxes?
Also never problems with any proof of substance checks or such?
How does KYC relate to "tax deductible invoices", i.e. how can this be without KYC - you need to know whom to invoice no?

 

[LondonOTC]

newNomad said:
Ok but I still don't understand how do you go around the tax problem, i.e. you buy crypto and the client pays fiat, you invoice the client but then how to avoid to get the fiat completely hammered by taxes?
Click to expand...

Because I have other customers that want to sell their crypto and get paid into their companies.

newNomad said:
Also never problems with any proof of substance checks or such?
Click to expand...

We hire cheap developers in India to make the proof of substance

newNomad said:
How does KYC relate to "tax deductible invoices", i.e. how can this be without KYC - you need to know whom to invoice no?
Click to expand...

We dont't check the KYC, we just make the invoices and send to the bank account

 

[Silvio]

Perhaps it's not a big amount but it's big relative to your usual activity and that's what triggered the call.
It could also be a question of where that broker is located and where the money came from..

 

[sonato]

maxmmm said:
Perhaps it's not a big amount but it's big relative to your usual activity and that's what triggered the call.
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I agree, as soon as you do something unusual with your bank account you will get a response from you bank, for sure. That's why you always need to be a step in front and have your documents prepared should they request anything.

The most stupid someone can do is to ignore the fact that the banks are not like they were used to be back 10 years ago, today they will hit you with all their document requirements as soon as something unusual appears on your account.