Removing excuses in money laundering

Criminals can use financial facilitators to invest their ill-gotten gains without drawing attention to themselves. These facilitators are experts at getting round anti-money laundering procedures. Because of their expertise and unique capabilities they play an important role in criminal networks. It therefore stands to reason that law enforcement focuses on them. That focus often translates in prosecution when laws are broken. However, what can we do to prevent financial experts in breaking the law? In this article the focus lies on the method of removing excuses. This technique is employed in every day crimes but has not been put to the test in the context of organized crime. Interviews with police officers show that the technique of removing excuses could work under certain conditions. However, it turns out that an important differentiation lies in the sort of activities financial facilitators undertake. Not all financial activities take place in the legal financial-economic system. Instead of distinguishing between the three classical phases of money laundering (placement, layering, integration), a two-pronged focus on those who are involved in cash based transactions and those who construct smokescreens on paper is proposed.     

腐败、洗钱与反洗钱

洗钱已经是一个国际性的难题。认识洗钱犯罪不仅要立足刑法规范的角度,尤其还要注意从犯罪学立场把握洗钱的时代特征,只有这样才能更及时、有效地组织起反洗钱的防线。该防线主要由三部分组成:即加强金融业监管与自律;完善惩治洗钱罪的刑事立法;开展国际交流合作,打击和防治跨境犯罪。     

Forfeiture and money laundering laws in the United States

Today Europe is faced increasingly with the phenomenon of organized crime, creating problems similar to those the United States faced as early as a decade ago. American forfeiture and money laundering laws provide the state with sweeping powers for use in its efforts to combat organized crime. Although study of these instruments might inspire European lawmakers to adopt similar ones, the instruments themselves carry a societal price tag that cannot be ignored. Classical principles limiting the reach of the criminal law (and the powers of its enforcement apparatus) and in a broader sense the liberal concept of the fragmentary nature of the criminal law have largely been abandoned by lawmakers in the area of organized crime. Thus, modern American forfeiture and money laundering laws have lowered the standards of protection against state intrusion into citizens' basic rights despite the lack of sufficient empirical proof that their investigative and punitive powers are efficient in skimming profits and deterring further crime.     

Human rights and money laundering: The prospect of international seizure of defense attorney fees

Conclusion At bottom, the power of the state to intervene and effectively control the relationship of a private attorney with that lawyer's client before trial and conviction is simply too onerous to be justified on the basis of crime control alone. The most persuasive arguments inMonsanto andCaplin & Drysdale are those of the dissent, which relied on the centrality to the sixth amendment of the relationship of trust that is fostered in the private attorney-client relationship. The failure to honor the right to counsel of choice results, as the dissent noted, in the possibility of the socialization of criminal defense services and diminution of counsel's independence.These conclusions, of course, are statements of policy, not empirically provable propositions. Major human rights instruments, as well as their interpretation by tribunals, express a policy of overwhelming and explicit commitment to the right to a fair trial, to equality of arms, to the presumption of innocence, to protection from undue government interference with chosen counsel, and to the right to counsel of choice itself. It can only be hoped that these provisions will persuade the European Court of Human Rights to strike the balance of policy equities in favor of protection of the accused.This paper was originally presented as part of a panel on International Human Rights and International Criminal Law, at the American Bar Association annual meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A., August 13, 1991.B.A., De Pauw University 1965; J.D., University of Illinois 1972.     

Fueling global crime: the mechanics of money laundering

Money laundering has been practiced in one form or another for thousands of years, dating back well before the birth of Christ, when highly motivated merchants moved their wealth beyond the confiscatory grasp of local rulers. Only in the recent past was the name ‘money laundering’ given to this financial hocus‐pocus. Popularly believed to have derived from Mafia ownership of Laundromats through which an endless stream of cash generated by extortion, prostitution and gambling flowed, ‘money laundering’ did not attract serious interest until the 1980s, and even then it fell primarily within a drug trafficking context. The phenomenon has pushed its way into the public consciousness as a mechanism used not only by traditional ‘underworld’ organizations, but some corporate and financial sector entities as well as individuals. Perhaps the events of 11 September 2001 did more to change the perception of money laundering as public discourse is now focused on methods used by terrorists to secure financing for their nefarious deeds. In point of fact, transnational criminality generally is exploding on a global level and money laundering is the lynchpin of their success. This article presents an overview summary of basic money laundering methods and is meant to help lay the foundation for further exploration.     

Money laundering laws as a political instrument: the social cost of arbitrary money laundering enforcement

The paper explains the reasons for modern money laundring legislation, namely to reduce the incidence of certain primary offences. Whereas enactment and effectuation of this legislation is costly, its postive effects typically materialize in other jurisdictions (positive external effects). The paper shows that international covenants seek to give direct incentives to overcome the possible underprovision in anti-money laundering legislation and enforcement. The paper also shows how, in such an international context, anti-money laundering legislation can be easily misused as a political weapon in the cross-border fight against "unwanted individuals" and gives concrete examples for such an arbitrary enforcement.

Prevention of money laundering and the role of asset recovery

The purpose of this paper is to examine the increasing emphasis of the UK anti-money laundering (AML) legislative framework, on the financial arrangements of criminals. Our qualitative study engaged key stakeholders from the AML environment through a series of focus groups. This included law enforcement; accountants; prosecutors; bankers and, importantly, ex-offenders. We argue that the inclusion of the views of a traditionally hard to reach group of ex-offenders, adds significantly to knowledge and understanding about effectiveness of AML. The research findings suggest that, at first glance, the focus on asset recovery has been successful. However, our respondents shared with us areas of tension and inconsistencies in application of the law, in particular between police and the courts. For example, whether it was better to prosecute the predicate offence  separately or in addition to the offence of money laundering; or whether to pursue criminal or civil recovery. We further find that criminals have been able to use their knowledge to circumvent the system, suggesting that greater effort is needed to promote cooperation, rather than competition, in successfully detecting and prosecuting offenders.     

New money laundering regulations bring rules up to date

The Money Laundering Regulations 2007 come into effect in theUK on 15th December 2007 to ensure that the UK's approach tomoney laundering at home and abroad is effective and proportionate.These     

The role of foundations in international anti-money laundering

Money laundering is a serious crime that destabilizes society.The author focuses on the measures undertaken by the internationalcommunity to combat money laundering and analyses a possibleabuse of foundations in such illegal schemes.