Synthetic Firms in Financial Fraud Networks
When businesses are created to transact, not operate!
At a Glance
Not all financial fraud evolves gradually.
Some entities are designed to be fraudulent from day one.
This case study examines how synthetic firms exploit registration and compliance processes to move value immediately, remaining procedurally compliant while enabling large-scale financial fraud.

Challenges
- Newly registered firms initiating financial activity immediately
- Absence of operational buildup or genuine business behaviour
- Difficulty distinguishing early fraud from legitimate early-stage activity


Solution
- Identification of clusters of newly registered firms with identical early behaviour
- Detection of rapid outward credit movement without operational justification
- Discovery of coordinated activity masked by fragmentation
Key Results
Early Entity Risk
Identification of newly registered firms exhibiting immediate transaction activity inconsistent with organic business onboarding.
Behavioural Anomalies
Detection of abnormal early-stage transaction patterns by analysing registration-to-activity velocity across entities.
Network Exposure
Revealed coordination among multiple newly created firms operating in parallel across jurisdictions rather than isolated misuse.
Preventive Intelligence
Enabled early intervention by shifting detection from historical review to behaviour-led intelligence at the point of firm creation.