It is believed that the commercial banks receive up to 30 percent of the sums stolen with forged letters of credit. Criminal groups are using increasingly sophisticated methods to penetrate and ultimately control banks. Before making their moves the criminal groups study the bank thoroughly. First they collect information about the bank's security system and its vulnerable spots, its chief managers and personnel, their habits, schedule of office hours, connections, addresses, etc. They do this by working with current bank personnel or by getting their own men hired at the banks, often as security guards.
Criminals show great arrogance and assertiveness in their efforts to gain control of banks.
Once controlled, the banks are used for a variety of purposes. The criminals tailor their approach to the nature of the bank it has targeted. The banking and financial institutions which were established in Soviet days are rarely subject to crude, overt extortion, for example. Increasingly, the most common method is simply to shoot them, which exerts psychological pressure on other bankers. For example, in June 1993 the chief accountant of the Russian Municipal Bank was abducted.