The majority of representatives of scrap metal sector say there is no money laundering in their business.
“I have never heard of it. It’s a hermetical market and entrepreneurs know each other very well. The barrier to enter the market is huge and no one suspected of money laundering would get access to this market”, Przemyslaw Sztuczkowski, CEO of listed Zlomrex, a scrap metal trading company, believed.
Tomasz Milas, TM Steel, steel and scrap metal distributor, has heard about illegal procedures.
“People were talking about suspected transactions but the majority of these companies were caught by controls”, Tomasz Milas said.
The Ministry of Finance says that virtual trade with scrap metal becomes more and more popular among criminals. In 2006, 92 suspected companies were controlled, 39 suits were filed to the prosecutor office concerning transactions worth PLN 114m. In 2005, only 19 signals were given to the prosecutor.
So far, virtual trading with fuel is the most popular way of money laundering. Last year, 131 suspected companies and transactions worth PLN 524m were controlled. 50 cases went to prosecutor.
It is estimated that PLN 30-50 billion is laundered in Poland. There are 30 methods known. Last year, 1,500 suspected cases were investigated but only 198 notes to the prosecutor sent concerning transactions worth PLN 900m. Only two of them ended with accusations, 175 cases are still under way. 92 bank accounts were blocked, and 4 transactions stopped worth PLN 48m.