Confession of a casher: how to make money out of thin air. How to cash out money - the consequences of illegal execution and legal methods Cashing out for “dummies”: a frank story from a market participant

The director of Crime Finance, a former “casher” and ex-employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, spoke about cash-out schemes and “second salaries” for bank managers

I studied at the Nizhny Novgorod police school, which specializes in the fight against economic crime. After that, he worked for several years in the structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the city of Ivanovo in the department for combating economic crimes, then went to work for the tax police, where he worked for several more years as an investigator.

In 2003, the tax police were disbanded, and I found myself on the other side of the barricades. While working in the tax police, I saw enough of how people made money through various scams and frauds, and I was tempted to do “cash out.” In this business, money is earned literally out of thin air - money from one of the companies arrives in a bank account, you withdraw it and return it (earning your percentage). At the same time, the client company avoids taxes (VAT or profit).

At first I had one or two clients who transferred small amounts of about 100,000 rubles a month through me. At that time, my percentage was about 3.5%, and if we take into account that the bank took 1%, then from 100,000 rubles my earnings were only 2,500 rubles. But business grew. My clients began to recommend me to others, and there were more and more of them. I began to expand: I organized new LLCs, attracted employees and cashed out everything in large volumes. Then large wholesale companies began to contact me, cashing out money for Moscow end clients. They ordered huge amounts.

Today in Moscow the cost of “cash out” has increased to 8%. Cashing out has become more difficult; the capital has long rushed to the regions. Regional banks are more “sleepy” and it is easier to get “cash” from them. Now large Moscow companies buy money in the regions at 5-6% and sell it to end consumers at 8%. When I was doing this, I sold money to Moscow for 3.5%, and they sold it to the final buyer for 5%.

In large banks, cash-out schemes go off with a bang, especially if the cash-out company finds a connection with the head of a local branch and pays him a “second” salary.

Bankers themselves give recommendations to their partners regarding “cash out”: “cash out, but not much” or “stop now, we have received a request from the Central Bank.” Basically, the entire cash market revolves around the three largest banks. Smaller banks, which have a risk of losing their license, are more worried and allow them to work less often and with small amounts. Although, if the owner of a bank understands that he is not making money from his bank or is incurring losses, then he “sells” it to cashers, or competes with them.

A typical apotheosis of the story with the banker-casher - a Central Bank inspection comes to him and points out violations. The bank owner estimates the timing of the verification and begins to “cash out” on a serious scale in order to earn the maximum amount of money and, in addition, also withdraws assets. He has nothing to lose, he will still lose his license and “the ship will sink.”

There are many interesting schemes, for example, the purchase of scrap metal was popular. Individuals hand over 50,000 rubles worth of scrap per day to a company that buys metal. The company must withdraw money from the bank to pay them. The latter asks to provide documents - copies of passports of people who handed over the metal. Fake or lost passports of people are provided to the bank and the amount of 1.5 million rubles is issued for them. The company submits an application to the bank for this amount and receives the money. Later, the cash is transferred to customers who have previously transferred a wire transfer to the scrap collection company.

Bankers often turn a blind eye or set the condition: “we will give you twenty a month, but no more.” The company agreed and cashed out 20 million rubles a month, while scrap metal was actually handed over for 500,000 rubles.

Companies that buy vegetables and fruits from farmers operate in a similar way, and buy honey or herbs from the population.

Do bankers always know about the schemes? Certainly. Although they agreed to work with us not only because of the “second salaries”. Some banks did not take money, but they worked because they officially received a large percentage from transactions. Although some credit institutions did not work with us in principle.

When working with banks, we also used the usual schemes: we withdrew from the plastic cards of individuals, from the accounts of legal entities, used promissory notes, and created for the banks the appearance of real activity. But the schemes have been modernized and have long gone beyond the banking system. For example, buying cash in retail chains is popular. Many retail operators, large chains, shops, gas stations, restaurants sell their “cash”.

Over five years of working in this business, I have formed a network in more than ten regions, hundreds of companies, two hundred employees, very complicated cash flows. We cashed out up to 100 million rubles a day. But a lot was spent on salaries and security - people covering us in the criminal component of the business (“roof”).

Another of the biggest problems of the cash-out business is the theft of subordinates. The director of one of hundreds of scheme LLCs suddenly takes the money and flies off somewhere abroad. Typically, a special fund is set aside for crisis situations, and income covers losses. Situations with a risk to life also occur - raids and thefts. A friend of mine in Moscow had their collectors shot. This is a very dangerous business.

Trouble happened to me too. When the amount of money cashed out went beyond billions of rubles, at some point I was arrested by FSB officers.

Why did this happen? Many in this business know how to negotiate with authorities, but by local standards, my case was resonant and large - the volumes were huge for a small town, both the Central Bank and law enforcement agencies already knew about me. In addition, it was not the police who dealt with me, but the FSB. They made me into a little show trial.

While the investigation was going on, I had to serve a year in a pre-trial detention center. As a result, I confessed, and the criminal case for me ended with the fact that I was given credit for the time I spent in the detention center. What conclusion did I draw? When I worked, I believed that since I didn’t steal from a specific person, then this was a normal business. But then I realized that it was still theft - taxes were not paid on cashed money. I didn't think about it or didn't understand it before.

Since the cash flow from the old business had ended and I was broke, I decided to create a company called Crime Finance. Now I encourage firms to identify illegal schemes. For example, I conduct master classes - I tell how cashing companies gain a foothold in banks, and how to identify them. I know these diagrams by heart, like a mason who has been laying bricks for 20 years and can build a house with his eyes closed.

Evgeny Vinogradov

Forbes, 04/08/14, “Money in a briefcase: how underground cash withdrawal networks are structured in Moscow”

Thousands of entrepreneurs use cash withdrawal systems in the capital. Forbes managed to find out how one of these networks works

Moscow businessman Oleg was sitting behind the wheel of a car parked on the outskirts of the city and nervously looking in the rearview mirror. Soon he saw an inconspicuous dirty crossover, which caught up with Oleg’s car and stopped. The crossover's tinted side window rolled down. Oleg also opened his window, and a few seconds later a bag of money fell into his lap. Meanwhile, the SUV quickly disappeared around the corner. Oleg, having picked up the money, also gave gas. He did not count the cash on the spot: the “delivery service” had not yet failed. In addition, he could file claims against the organizers of the underground cash-out network using special software.

This story, which occurred in the fall of 2013, illustrates the operation of a cash withdrawal system, the services of which are used by thousands of entrepreneurs. Forbes managed to find out how one of Moscow’s underground cash-cash networks works. How does the system work, which, as Central Bank officials admit, has acquired a macroeconomic scale?

The lifeblood of the economy

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, hundreds of cash-out organizations, including banks, are engaged in the illegal business of turning non-cash money into bundles of bills tied with rubber bands. Entrepreneurs need unaccounted cash for bribes and kickbacks, to pay salaries to employees in envelopes and to evade taxes. Former Chairman of the Central Bank Sergei Ignatiev estimated the volume of the cash market at 500 billion rubles in 2012. The main interest in cash is shown by construction companies and small businesses. Recently, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the center of illegal operations is moving from Moscow to the regions, and cash suppliers, as before, are clothing, construction and food markets and companies with large amounts of cash proceeds, such as transport and retail.

The Central Bank, Rosfinmonitoring, as well as the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other law enforcement agencies are fighting cashing with varying degrees of success. In 2013, the authorities launched an active offensive. “Five years ago I could order and immediately receive $10 million in cash, but now no more than $2 million,” says the financier, who has more than once acted as a link in the cash-out chain. The head of the federal information center “Analytics and Security”, retired police major Ruslan Milchenko, says that the number of cash-out sites and banks began to decline in 2009, when a political request appeared from the country’s leadership: intelligence services should take control of cash flows involved in dubious transactions . “Now you can’t just cash out a large sum,” says a financier on condition of anonymity. “You can’t hide such a transaction, because Rosfinmonitoring has learned to analyze the information coming to it and quickly tracking $10 million is no longer a problem for it.”

Net. Examination

Oleg owns a small agency for organizing corporate events and parties. One day - it was in the summer of 2011 - he needed cash - several hundred thousand rubles. For small businesses this is a very significant amount. He turned to his friends and, having secured two mandatory recommendations, went to a meeting with representatives of the cash-out network. The interview took place not at all in the spirit of spy films in an unnamed eatery on the outskirts of the city, but in a respectable office center in the north-west of Moscow. One of the company's offices is located here, with a staff of several dozen people headed by a representative general director. Oleg categorically refused to tell Forbes under what cover the company operates, but its main activities are in no way connected with the official ones. Cashing is a real business, bringing millions of dollars to the organizers of the underground network.

At the meeting, Oleg told two representatives of the network in detail about his business, showed standard contracts, and named the main customers and contractors. He did not arouse suspicion, but at the first stage he received only the details of several companies similar in profile to his business. Their accounts were opened in a small bank, Oleg does not disclose its name, but this is the bank the network uses as its main one. On behalf of these companies, Oleg from time to time entered into contracts with his customers, they transferred him money for services rendered, and he withdrew them in cash. The commission for the service was slightly less than 10%.

At first, the organizers of the network kept an eye on the new recruit and did not trust him completely, so he received cash in someone else’s car, parked in a crowded place. “I got into the car, an unfamiliar man put a bag of money on the seat, without passing it from hand to hand,” says Oleg. “I just took the money and got out of the car.”

Cashing Master

Until recently, the flagship of cashing was Master Bank, which lost its license in November 2013, and before that it issued about 1 billion rubles per day. According to the deputy head of the Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Pavel Sychev, banks usually play a passive role in cash withdrawal cases, they only open current accounts at the request of shell companies, but in the case of Master Bank everything was much more complicated. “Over the last year, the bank facilitated the cashing out of funds on dubious grounds in the amount of at least 200 billion rubles
and committed over 100 violations of current legislation,” Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Mikhail Sukhov told Forbes. Based on market estimates voiced by ex-Chairman of the Central Bank Sergei Ignatiev, it turns out that Master Bank’s share in this market reached 40%.

In essence, Master Bank was a holding structure and managed a network of smaller partner banks, where more than 200 companies had accounts. Special employees were engaged in opening and maintaining personal accounts of individuals, to which shell companies transferred money - supposedly “salaries”, “loans” and “proceeds from the sale of securities”. According to the Central Bank, the number of such accounts reached two thousand.

The main link in the cash withdrawal scheme through Master Bank was its extensive network of 3,500 ATMs (third largest in the country). “One-day companies transferred funds under loan agreements to the accounts of citizens - clients of Master Bank, and they cashed out these funds at the bank’s ATMs by the end of the same day,” says Mikhail Sukhov. According to Milchenko from the Analytics and Security information center, Master Bank ATMs at airports were loaded with €500 notes, and there may have been no limits for withdrawing salaries or cash loans.

Master Bank first came to the attention of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2007. Then a case was initiated against four employees of Master Bank and the Project Finance Bank (the license was revoked in December 2013). As a result, they were convicted of illegal banking activities, which they were engaged in from July to September 2006. Since then, the bank has become a defendant in six criminal cases. In two of them, sentences have been passed, two have been closed, and in two cases the investigation is ongoing.

Pyotr Rudenko, Elena Zubova

As is known, the change in the socio-economic formation that occurred in the late 90s of the last century led to a radical change in the state’s approach to entrepreneurial activity, and the legal regulation of entrepreneurial activity also changed. Entrepreneurship is a sphere of social activity, the effective functioning of which is possible only within the framework of legal regulation.

Within the framework of the unified concept of entrepreneurial relations, depending on the characteristics of the mediated activities and the composition of the subjects participating in them, three types of relations are distinguished.

Firstly, these are the relationships that develop during the implementation of production and economic activities. The participants in such relations are economic entities that directly conduct economic activities. These are primarily enterprises and other commercial organizations, although in some cases non-profit organizations may also participate in such relationships. Such relations are usually called horizontal relations, which emphasizes the independence of their subjects from each other.

Secondly, relations regarding the organization (regulation) of production and economic activities are highlighted. The participants in such relations are, on the one hand, enterprises or other economic entities, and on the other, management bodies that organize (regulate) their activities, including centers of economic systems (management bodies of production and economic complexes). Such relationships express the dependence of economic entities and are usually called vertical relationships. Distinguishing between these two types of economic relations, it is necessary to emphasize the close connection that exists between them. Situations often arise when a certain organization acts in some respects as an enterprise, and in others as a management body. An example is the parent organization of a holding (holding company), which in relations with the enterprises of the holding acts as a corporate governance body (the center of the economic system), and in relations with other economic entities can act as an enterprise.

Thirdly, intra-economic (intra-production and intra-corporate) relations are highlighted. They develop within an enterprise (economic entity) between its divisions, as well as between them and the enterprise as a whole. Consequently, such relationships can arise both horizontally and vertically. Within corporate enterprises, for example in joint-stock companies, along with intra-production relations, intra-corporate relations also arise between the participants of such enterprises, as well as between them and the corporate enterprise.

Entrepreneurship is a unique, independent, multifaceted and complex phenomenon of socio-economic life. It should be studied as a complex interdisciplinary phenomenon at the intersection of philosophy, sociology, economics, psychology and, of course, jurisprudence.

Each of these branches of knowledge studies its own aspects of entrepreneurship. Therefore, there is no single (for all sciences) generally accepted definition (concept) of entrepreneurship. At the same time, no one doubts the existence of this phenomenon in the real, primarily in the socio-economic sphere of society.

Entrepreneurship, among other things, special belief system on the phenomena of reality, different, for example, from the views of civil servants, employees of state enterprises, etc. An entrepreneur must have the business acumen and entrepreneurial flair necessary for the dynamic development of a business.

Entrepreneurship is based on the creative act of discovering new profitable opportunities in the economic sphere of human life. At the same time, the very essence of entrepreneurship is nothing more than a special “sensitivity” to such opportunities, the ability to see results and imagine ways to achieve them.

The main goal of business activity, according to Art. 2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation - systematic receipt of profit. However, entrepreneurial activity cannot be reduced only to generating entrepreneurial income. Legal entities and individual entrepreneurs participate in solving various social problems and allocate funds for the development of healthcare, culture and education. We should not forget that business entities are required to pay taxes and fees, from which the state budget is formed, which is the basis for the functioning of the Russian state.

Thus, creating conditions for effective business activity is the most important state task, and legal regulation of business activity is one of the tools for accomplishing this task.

The purpose of creating this portal is to highlight the most important legal issues of entrepreneurial activity, review the legislation with the help of which legal regulation of entrepreneurial activity is carried out.

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In large banks, cash-out schemes go off with a bang, especially if the cash-out company finds a connection with the head of a local branch and pays him a “second” salary.

A typical apotheosis of the story with the banker-casher - a Central Bank inspection comes to him and points out violations. The owner of the bank estimates the timing of the verification and begins to “cash out” on a serious scale in order to earn the maximum amount of money and, in addition, also withdraws assets. He has nothing to lose, he will still lose his license and “the ship will sink.”

Companies that buy vegetables and fruits from farmers operate in a similar way, and buy honey or herbs from the population.

Trouble happened to me too. When the amount of money cashed out went beyond billions of rubles, at some point I was arrested by FSB officers.

Often an LLC needs to cash out funds from its own account, but the state has limited this ability. Therefore, the organization, or rather its leaders, must be careful or the tax authorities may indicate that their action falls under the category of an illegal scheme with the ensuing consequences.

Cash withdrawal article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

If cashing out any funds from the account of any LLC is recognized as tax evasion, then the punishment for such a case in 2018 will be specified in Article 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It says that any illegal method of withdrawing the required money from the LLC account will lead to fines, forced labor, and may even result in criminal liability.

What is, definition, characteristics

Cash withdrawal in 2018 is the withdrawal of money from the non-cash settlement number of any LLC. This operation always requires a financial or legal reason. These include:

Dividend payment.
Debiting from an account as an expense, for example, if a service or work must be paid for.
Issuing a loan.
Transfer of money to individual entrepreneurs and other individuals for the provision of services, for payment of salaries, travel allowances, etc.

In 2018, when using the specified cash withdrawal methods, a percentage is deducted towards the bank commission.

Transfer to the client's name

In 2018, transferring funds to the client’s name is possible only after they are written off as expenses, for example, after returning a low-quality product. In other cases, this threatens trouble, since the tax office may accuse the LLC of using an illegal scheme, and the client may also be summoned to the Federal Tax Service for an explanation regarding cashing out.

When withdrawing client money, a standard bank interest in the form of a commission is withdrawn; it is taken by Sberbank and any other institution. Sometimes a scheme is used in which the client receives money from a credit card.

Cash withdrawal from the current account of LLC Scheme

The operation itself is simple; the manager or chief accountant just needs to fill out a payment order. The withdrawn amount is credited to the cash receipt order; the bank through which the withdrawal is made usually takes a percentage in the form of a commission.

How to draw up a contract correctly?

To ensure that the company does not get into trouble when cashing out the required funds from the current account, it is required that any agreement (lease under which work is done or a service is provided) in 2018 must contain all the essential conditions:

Names of the parties, their details.
Transaction cost.
Term.
Others, if any.

The essence of the agreement should also be clearly stated.

Cash withdrawal through cards of individuals

In 2018, cashing out funds from an LLC current account to individual cards occurs when the case is as follows:

Dividends are withdrawn; this is done once a quarter; they cannot be received after a shorter period.
Salaries are issued, that is, when money is transferred to employee cards.
If a company pays for services received or work performed for it, the withdrawal of money must be made after it is written off as expenses.
Funds are transferred to employees for business purposes, for example, to replenish an MTS mobile account or any other;

A card owned by an individual can also be used to obtain a loan. Any specified scheme in which the required funds are cashed out from the LLC’s settlement number in 2018 assumes that the bank will charge a percentage for its commission.

What are the withdrawal methods via a bank card?

Almost every bank card in the Russian Federation in 2018 can be used to withdraw funds from an LLC current account if the scheme is as follows:

The money is withdrawn to pay dividends, but you need to understand that the bank will charge a percentage to pay the commission.
The money is withdrawn to pay salaries and travel allowances; in both cases, the company is engaged in cash withdrawals using employee cards. There is another way in which any person working in an organization in 2018 has the right to receive funds from an LLC - to ensure business activities. Any specified scheme with employees allows you to cash out the necessary funds from the LLC’s current account, but a percentage for the bank’s service in the form of its commission will necessarily be withdrawn.
When money is withdrawn from a current account as payment for services, work performed, or other expenses. This scheme is also not free - in 2018 the bank will withdraw a certain percentage towards the required commission;

Also, cashing out funds from a settlement number through an ATM can be done when a loan is issued, which can be in cash; it is allowed to be issued to individual entrepreneurs and other persons. Moreover, this credit option differs from all others in that every cash ruble received will have to be returned at some point. Through a bank card, a company can buy a security, for example, a bill of exchange, or use another financial instrument.

But this scheme is special in that cashing money from a current account will not lead to its actual spending, since a security (loan bill, etc.) costs money, but its price can be influenced by the market. Each such scheme allows you to cash out after the bank has withdrawn interest on account of the agreed commission, and all institutions, both Sberbank and others, withdraw funds.