A different company paid the buyer’s invoice

If contract proceeds arrive from a company other than the buyer, the payer mismatch alone does not explain the transfer. A typical examination tests a third-party payment explanation against a specific delivery; the payment reference alone is insufficient.

What needs to be clarified

Trace the buyer–payer–recipient relationship, compare the payment basis with contract performance, and identify transactions whose explanation remains unsupported by documents.

Materials to prepare

Account statement containing complete disputed payment references
Supply contract, invoices and corresponding goods transfer records
Third-party payment letters and reconciliation of the parties’ accounts

What to compare

Compare dates, amounts, invoice identifiers and dispatch records; check whether the same liability was discharged in the buyer’s ledger. Examine instalments, refunds and subsequent offsets separately. Build an evidence chain for each transfer, distinguishing a party’s statement from independently verifiable delivery records.

Possible outcome of the analysis

A payment diagram and delivery reconciliation table may distinguish supported explanations from unresolved breaks; conclusions depend on consistency across all participants’ records.

Limits of the conclusions

Third-party payment is not automatically suspicious. Analysis establishes neither criminal origin nor guaranteed account unblocking; applicable obligations require separate jurisdiction-specific assessment.