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Money Laundering: A Banker's Guide to
avoiding problems
December 2002: This booklet presents
basic background information on U.S.
money-laundering laws and
international anti-money laundering
efforts. It also discusses actions
bankers can take to better identify
and manage risks associated with money
laundering and terrorist financing. It
is intended to provide a high-level
discussion of concepts and issues.
More detail on the subjects discussed
may be obtained by using the listing
of materials and organizations in the
"Where to Get More Information"
section. (Read
more...)
Cleaning up SA’s act
AUGUST 2002: From every corner of the
globe, governments and international
organisations have rallied against
money laundering. In laws,
declarations and speeches, the problem
has been associated with everything
from narcotics to organised crime to
political corruption. More recently,
the president of the United States has
highlighted the connection between
terrorism and money laundering,
following the tragic events of 11
September 2001.
Defining the concept
What exactly is ‘money laundering’?
Money laundering is the process
whereby criminals attempt to conceal
and disguise the true origin and
ownership of their illicit gains from
unlawful activities and make them
appear legal by means of a single or
series of transactions, thereby
avoiding prosecution, conviction and
confiscation of the illicit gains. (Read
more...)
Anti-Money Laundering: New Rules, New
Challenges, New Solutions
In recent years, money laundering has
evolved into a sophisticated,
high-tech practice of unprecedented
scale. Complex cross-border financial
and communication systems, disparate
laws and regulations, and increasingly
sophisticated money laundering schemes
all contribute to the challenges posed
by money laundering. It has never been
more important for business executives
in all industries to take stock of the
risk to which money laundering exposes
them. Executives for any company with
operations in the United States must
understand the new policies,
regulations, and major anti-money
laundering technologies to formulate a
successful compliance strategy. (Read
more...)
Keeping
your hands clean
OCTOBER
2001: Here's a time-honoured recipe from
the crookbook: Combine one bent lawyer
with one opportunistic banker. Fold in
one accountant who looks the other way.
Blend well. Of course, that's a money-laundering
concoction that most of us would never
attempt. Nevertheless, it was once a foolproof
formula for profiteering success. But
Canada's new Proceeds of Crime (Money
Laundering) Act, or Bill C-22, has come
along to clean up the kitchen - and it's
a bill that accountants should embrace.
(Read
more...)
The CPA’s Role in Fighting Money Laundering
JUNE 2001:
Until approximately 10 years ago, law
enforcement officials in the United States
and around the world waged the battle
against money laundering without support
from the business community or other branches
of government. At the time, few of the
world’s governments had passed laws making
money laundering itself a crime. Instead,
they focused on activities—such as drug
trafficking—that led up to it. Because
this strategy didn’t address all aspects
of the growing problem, however, it was
only partly effective. (Read
more...)
The Fight Against Money Laundering
May
2001: Money laundering allows crime to
pay by permitting criminals to hide
and legitimize proceeds derived from
illegal activities. According to one
recent estimate, worldwide money
laundering activity amounts to roughly
$1 trillion a year. These illicit
funds allow criminals to finance a
range of additional criminal
activities. Moreover, money laundering
abets corruption, distorts economic
decision-making, aggravates social
ills, and threatens the integrity of
financial institutions. (Read
more...)
Financial Intelligence Units and
International Cooperation
April
2001: Roughly since the beginning of
the nineties an ever-increasing number
of countries set up a preventive
anti-money laundering system, imposing
specific detecting and reporting
duties on persons and/or institutions
that are deemed vulnerable to be used
- wittingly or unwittingly - for money
laundering purposes. Obviously the
first and main attention in this area
of prevention focused on banks and
non-bank financial institutions.
Based on
the statute of the disclosure
receiving authority, there are 4 basic
concepts to be distinguished among the
reporting systems established
worldwide. (Read
more...)
Interaction between money laundering
and tax evasion
Some
time ago, money laundering essentially
drew attention when being associated
with illicit drug trafficking.
However, times have changed and
numerous cases showed the world that
criminals main concern is the
laundering of proceeds stemming from
any possible serious offence, and
this, irrespective whether these
proceeds are associated with illicit
drug trafficking, tax evasion1 or any
other form of criminal conduct.
Although
money laundering and tax evasion are
different crimes, there is a link
between both. The success of each
crime depends on the ability to hide
the financial trail of the income.
Money launderers seek to transform
illegally earned income into legal
income, while tax evaders seek to
conceal income, either legally or
illegally earned, from detection and
collection by the tax authorities. (Read
more...)
Financial Intelligence Units - in
action
A
compilation of 100 sanitised cases on
successes and learning moments in the
fight against money laundering. (Read
more...)
Money Laundering and the accountant
APRIL
1998: The Proceeds of Crime Act 76 of
1996 (the Act) provides inter alia an
obligation to report suspicions of
money laundering to the Commercial
Crime Unit of the SA Police Service.
This duty to report also applies to
accountants who receive funds from
clients in the course of their
business for the purpose of deposit or
investment. Failure to report could
lead to a sentence of up to 30 years’
imprisonment, if convicted. (Read
more...)
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