The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has revealed it is investigating a real estate scam, following several suspicious transaction reports (STRs) involving variants of the same name of a man purporting to purchase property.

The suspicious activity involves an individual purporting to be a US citizen from Washington, DC going by the aliases Andrew Franklin, Franklin Andrew, Frank Andrews or Frank Andrew, who would contact a real estate agent or law firm via email, requesting assistance to purchase real estate in The Bahamas.

“Once the individual has been made aware of the retainer amount and the necessary KYC documentation, they would forward the documentation in support to the request, however, all of the documents are fraudulent,” the FIU noted in a statement released over the weekend.

“Additionally, the retainer amount would be overstated and either sent directly to the law firm or the law firm’s banking institution. The individual would immediately request a refund of the overstated amount with the hopes that the funds are remitted prior to the check being cleared.”

The FIU urged those who conduct business related to real estate to exercise extreme caution while conducting know your customer (KYC) procedures, particularly those who work within financial institutions, law firms and real estate companies.

“If you have any information or your financial institution has been approached by an individual using any of these names or a variation thereof and fits the description as noted, please contact the FIU immediately,” the statement noted.

“Additionally, it is recommended that institutions refrain from depositing any checks remitted to the institution and discontinue any communication with the individual. It appears as if the individual is targeting The Bahamas and therefore we ask that all financial institutions, in particular law firms and real estate agents, to take extreme caution in this regard.”

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