An investigation has been launched after a multi-million euro scam was perpetrated against the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA).
The scam, which is understood to have involved as much as €5m, was uncovered earlier this week after staff expressed concern about a payment made to a company connected to the Ireland Stategic Investment Fund (ISIF).
The fund is managed and controlled by the NTMA and is described as “a sovereign development fund with a unique mandate to invest on a commercial basis to support economic activity and employment in Ireland”.
Given the nature of the fund, large amounts of money are often transferred through it.
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It emerged this week that one payment which caused staff concern was bogus, with the request originating from an as yet unidentified and likely criminal source.
The NTMA said the nature and timing of the request for the fund transfer was designed to increase the chances the scam would be successful.
It stressed there was no evidence that there had been a breach of its systems, with the criminals exploiting human vulnerabilities and deploying a type of invoice fraud on the agency.
A spokesman said the agency was “restricted in what we can say on this issue as there are investigations underway.
“Earlier this week, NTMA staff raised concerns over an individual payment which had been made to one of ISIF’s investee companies. On review it became clear that the request for payment – what is termed a capital call – was fraudulent. The NTMA immediately reported the matter to the relevant authorities, including An Garda Síochána.
The statement said the fraudulent payment request from the third party “was designed and timed to pass as a legitimate request for funds from the investee company.
“We are conducting a thorough examination of every aspect of this to fully understand what occurred. Our immediate focus is on recovering the funds and to investigate fully this matter,” the NTMA statement said.
“Following receipt of a complaint of alleged fraud, An Garda Síochána has commenced an investigation into this matter. No further comment is available at this time,” a Garda spokesman said.
While it is not clear if this is what happened on this occasion, invoice fraud typically sees criminals making contact with businesses pretending to be a legitimate enterprise.
They then work to earn the trust of individuals within that company with a view to diverting payments to accounts they have control over. The money then disappears through the international banking network.
