Tipping-off

Any person who discloses to any other person, information or any other matter, which is likely to prejudice an investigation.

Tipping-off is one of the Financial Action Task Force Recommendation:

Financial institutions, their directors, officers and employees should be:

• protected by law from criminal and civil liability for breach of any restriction on disclosure of information imposed by contract or by any legislative, regulatory or administrative provision, if they report their suspicions in good faith to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), even if they did not know precisely what the underlying criminal activity was, and regardless of whether illegal activity actually occurred; and
• prohibited by law from disclosing (“tipping-off”) the fact that a suspicious transaction report or related information is being filed with the FIU.

Tipping off a money launderer can include:

1. changing the way the company handles the account
2. informing other people not related to the investigation of the suspicions
3. directly alerting them of a suspicion