The Magdalene Cipher Read Online Free PDF Page B

commercial covers—”
    â€œAnd banking facilities—”
    â€œâ€”abroad.”
    â€œRight.”
    â€œAnd how did you do that?” Tweedledee asked .
    â€œWell,” Dunphy said, “every situation is different, but basically, I’d pick a venue, depending on the client’s needs, and then—”
    â€œWhat do you mean, pick a venue?”
    â€œThe place where the incorporation would take place. There are a lot of possibilities, and they’re all different. Some are more respectable, and more expensive, than others.”
    â€œFor example?”
    â€œLuxembourg, Liechtenstein, Switzerland.”
    â€œThey’re more respectable?”
    â€œYeah, compared to Panama, Belize, and Vanuatu, they’re a lot more respectable. Panama’s funky . You see Panama on a letterhead, and the first word that comes into your mind is cartel . a”
    â€œAnd then? . . .”
    â€œI’d fill in the forms to create a new company, or if the client was in a hurry, or didn’t care about the name, I’d just take one off the shelf.” Before they could ask him the obvious question, he explained. “I spent half my time drawing up corporations, so I always had a couple of dozen of them, waiting to go. That way, if a client walked in off the street and needed something right away, I could give it to him—there and then—wherever he wanted it.”
    â€œAnd what would he get—actually?”
    Dunphy sighed. “Well , physically , he’d get a large envelope. And in it, he’d have two copies of the Company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association. Plus the undated resignations of the founding directors and secretary—”
    â€œWho were? . . .”
    â€œLocals. Liberians, Manx, whatever. They were people who made their names available for a small fee. They didn’t have any real connection to the firms. They were just names. And let’s see . . . what else? There’d be some blank stock transfers, a certificate of nontrading—and, of course, all of it was embossed with stamps and seals and tied together with red ribbons. Once the incorporation fees were paid, the company was live.”
    â€œAnd then what?”
    â€œThen they’d need a bank account.”
    â€œAnd how was that set up?”
    â€œThey’d give me a deposit. And I’d open an account in the company’s name. Mostly, I used the Midland Bank in St. Helier—Channel Islands.”
    â€œSo you controlled all the accounts.”
    Dunphy laughed. “Only for a few days. Once I sent the paperwork to the client, they’d take my name off the account. Not that it mattered. Most of the time, I opened these accounts with less than a hundred pounds. It wasn’t like I was tempted or anything.”
    â€œMost of the time.”
    â€œYeah. There were exceptions. I had a couple of clients that I’d done a lot of work for, and sometimes they gave me some fairly substantial checks to deposit. But those were exceptions—and they knew where I lived. So to speak.”
    â€œLike who?”
    â€œLike us.” Rhinegold and Esterhazy looked puzzled. “I set up half a dozen companies for the Agency, and each time, there were substantial deposits up front. So what? I’m gonna skip out?”
    â€œBut you did the same thing for individuals. And private firms.”
    â€œOf course. That was my cover. That’s what Anglo-Erin Business Services did . Publicly.”
    â€œAnd this was entirely confidential.”
    â€œIt was supposed to be,” Dunphy said .
    â€œBut . . . ,” Esterhazy prodded .
    â€œI was tasked—indirectly, of course—by half a dozen agencies.”
    â€œSuch as?”
    â€œDEA, IRS, Customs—” Dunphy paused for breath and continued. “—ISA—”
    Esterhazy waved him off. “And how did that work?”
    â€œI kept