Office Space (1999)
Disenchanted Employees Install a Computer Virus on their Employer’s Systems to Steal Company Funds, then Need to Launder the Ill-Gotten Gains
Office Space, the comedy about TPS reports, fax machines, answering machines, floppy disks, PC load letter, Hawaiian shirt day, 15 pieces of flair, snarling commutes, office cubicles, tips jars vs. trays, and a group of friends that skim off their hated employer to end the monotony of it all. In the Y2K era, where the computer-based world was supposed to end because of using two-digit year codes, Initech employees Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston), Samir Nagheenanajar (Ajay Naidu), and Michael Bolton (David Herman) [not that Michael Bolton…] are software engineers plugging away at lines of code to update bank software for the Y2K switch.
After Michael and Samir learn from Peter they are going to be laid off by efficiency consultants, the three plan to strike back at Initech by installing a virus into the credit union’s mainframe and the rest will take care of itself. The plan was for the virus to take a fraction of a cent on thousands of transactions over several years, which the three felt would be undetected, but would net them several hundred thousand dollars. Michael explained to Peter that Initech was so backed up with Y2K software updates it would be unlikely they would notice the virus impacted the code.
Unfortunately, the plan goes sideways with the more than $305,000 deposited into Peter’s account, which he recently opened for this specific purpose. A notable red flag for unusual activity on customer accounts is when significant funds are deposited into newly opened accounts. The three are very concerned about the acceleration of the skimming with Peter asking Michael how it happened. Michael believes he put the decimal point in the wrong place since he usually always screws up mundane details. Peter disagrees that $305,326.13 is a mundane detail and corporate accounting is going to notice the funds being gone. Moreover, Peter believes he should close the account before the amount gets bigger, again, another red flag.
Subsequently, the three try to solve what to do with their ill-gotten gains such as hand the money back for the amount missing or try to launder the money using a cocaine dealer. However, the three do not understand the definition of money laundering, so they look it up in a dictionary, to which Michael states, “to conceal the source of money by channeling it through an intermediary.” They come across a potential solution to their money laundering problem when a former crack addict door-to-door salesman seeks to sell them magazine subscriptions. As the three are so desperate, they think the salesman knows a crack dealer and can introduce them to one. However, the salesman was really an unemployed engineer from an Initech competitor and to stay quiet about their story, Peter buys 40 magazine subscriptions. As such, the three fear what type of prison they will go to for laundering money, which does not include white-collar resort prison.
Peter has regrets about stealing the money, decides he should return it by leaving a confession under his boss’s door late at night. The next day, as Peter heads to work to face the consequences of his actions, he arrives at Initech’s office building engulfed in flames, which consumed his confession letter to his boss. Peter laughs it off as earlier in the movie his co-worker Milton told him that if Initech took his stapler, then he would set the building on fire. Eventually, Peter moves on from office work into construction, Samir and Michael continue at another software company, and Milton sips margaritas from an island resort.
To close, when you are just having one of those days at the office let it out or call it a day.
Arkansas
Bayou Drug Dealer uses Front Businesses to Disguise his Drug Operation, While a Close Associate Withdraws all the Proceeds from their Joint Bank Account
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Compliance Officer Identifies Unusual Trade Activity of an Important Client from a High-Risk Country Indicating a Possible Terror Plot
Emily the Criminal
Dummy Shopper Credit Card Scam Operator Dreams of Integrating Proceeds into a Large Real Estate Purchase
The Equalizer 3
Change in Historical Transactional Behavior of a Winery Raises Suspicion of Illicit Activity
RISK | STRATEGY | CYBER COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT
