This title provides a practical, comprehensive guide to domestic anti-money laundering law and regulation, increasingly seen as key weapons in the fight against serious and organised crime.

How exactly is money laundered? The answer to this question is not well understood – and for this very reason, costly prevention measures remain ineffective. This much-needed book provides the first in-depth explanation of the methods used by intelligent criminals to amass wealth from large-scale trafficking in drugs, arms, and human beings, as well as from less odious crimes. The author shows clearly not only why existing approaches to combat money laundering are bound to fail but also how money launderers easily circumvent such measures. Based on qualitative interviews with both alleged criminals and prevention experts, detailed illustrations of concrete steps taken by intelligent and specialized perpetrators of money laundering allow practitioners to anticipate and effectively combat this type of crime. The author fully documents such aspects of money launderers’ behaviour as the following: resources required; dealing with detection risks; and international mobility. A central chapter covers in depth the various markets, institutions, and facilities that are particularly favourable to money laundering, and original insights accompany the presented findings with relevant quotations from the interviewees. The author offers tailored recommendations for different professional groups, including bankers, prosecutors, defence lawyers, and judges. In its critical questioning of the logic behind anti-money laundering regulations and their costly implementation, the book demonstrates that either the existing measures of prevention are drastically tightened and extended to almost all branches of the economy or the financial sector is relieved of the burden it bears and alternative ways of fighting this type of crime are sought instead. It will prove enormously valuable to understanding and investigating white-collar and financial crime, and be welcomed by practitioners and professionals in financial markets, banking, criminal lawyers, and compliance experts, as well as academia.

Anti-Money Laundering is the definitive reference on money laundering and practice. First an outline will be given of the general approach taken by supra-national organisations like the United Nations and the European Council. Next the approach taken by international organisations and initiatives on the basis of the supra-national initiatives will be outlined by senior members of those organisations. A number of countries will then describe their specific prevention legislation. Countries involved will all be member-countries of the FATF (Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering). Finally there will be an overview to enable the reader to make a comparison between the most important topics of money laundering legislation and rules in the different countries.

Présentation de l'éditeur : "While Anti-Money Laundering instruments are ever increasing in scope and complexity, policymakers have often lost sight of the objectives pursued. As a consequence, legislation is, in many cases, shaped by unrealistic political expectations and inconsistent design. Against this backdrop, this book explains key deficiencies of existing law and develops policy proposals to enhance both effectiveness and respect for fundamental rights. To this end, it thoroughly examines the interplay between criminal justice, regulatory law and data protection rules in Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and contrasts these findings with the frameworks of the Financial Action Task Force and of the European Union. The results of this collaborative research project emphasise the need to approach Anti-Money Laundering as a complex architecture that consists of numerous diverse but highly interdependent areas of law. Reform debates must therefore overcome a fragmented vision, in particular as regards the shape of criminal proceedings, the function of Financial Intelligence Units and supervisory authorities, the aims of private sector involvement and the scope of public-private information sharing. Only then does one learn from past mistakes and avoid ill-conceived remedies that ultimately fail to adapt supranational standards to the institutional and constitutional reality of countries' domestic legal order."

Money laundering is a global issue and there is evidence that the services provided by the legal profession may be misused to launder the proceeds of crime. This book explores the experiences of professionals within Top 50 law firms when seeking to comply with the UK’s anti-money laundering (AML) regime. The book draws upon empirical evidence from 40 in-depth interviews with solicitors and compliance personnel from 20 Top 50 law firms. Access to this section of the legal profession is challenging in the context of academic research, and the research provides an account, seldom heard in academic literature, directly from practitioners. The book uses these research findings to explore and discuss the AML compliance issues faced by this section of the profession. It highlights the challenges presented by the legislative architecture of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, and considers compliance issues relating to customer due diligence, AML training, the client account and the suspicious activity reporting regime. It also considers participants’ perceptions of the regime, their role within it, and their own assessment of money laundering risk. It concludes by using this evidence to recommend amendments to current AML policy and legislation. This book will be of interest to students and researchers studying Financial Crime Law, Business and Company Law, and White Collar Crime, as well as policy makers in the areas of money laundering, compliance, and corruption.