Money Laundering Law

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.

This book introduces and contextualizes the revised and strengthened legislation on the laundering of criminal funds mandated by the European Union on the 20th May 2015. The authors provide fresh and new insight into the EU’s fourth directive 2015/849, with a specific focus on topics such as: beneficial ownership and effective transparency, the risk-based approach, the issue of supervision of payment institutions that operate across borders by agents, the new method of risk assessment, tax crimes inclusion in “criminal activity” definition, and the effects of new rules on the gambling sector. The authors present the new laws in the context of their legal genealogy and demonstrate the benefits they bring in raising the standards for anti-money laundering regulation and counter-terrorism financing. The book’s comprehensive exploration of this new legislation will appeal to policy-makers, students and academics hoping to understand the changes more clearly.

"This essential resource on money laundering laws contains the up-to-date Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and Regulations, FINTRAC guidelines and related legislation and materials. The expert commentary, prepared by Terence D. Hall of Cassels, Brock & Blackwell LLP, outlines the compliance requirements and liablilities of lawyers, financial institutions, accountants and other reporting entities under the post-2006 amendments regime. Also included are the Forty Recommendations and the Nine Special Recommendations issued by the Financial Action Task Force."--Back cover

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."

This book analytically reviews the impact of the global anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) framework on the compliance trajectory of a number of jurisdictions to this framework. The work begins by examining the international financial sector reform and its evolution to inculcate the global framework for AML/CFT regulations. It challenges the resulting uniform AML/CFT due to its paradoxical impact on the compliance trajectory of African countries and emerging economies (ACs/EEs). This is done through an examination of the pre-conditions for effective regulation and compliance drivers for ACs/EEs that reveals the behavioural impact of the AML/CFT standards on the bloc of countries. Through the application of agency theory, it explores the relationship between ACs/EEs on the one hand and the international financial institutions that formulate, disseminate and facilitate compliance with the global framework for AML/CFT standards on the other. The remaining chapters review empirically the compliance pressures and resulting compliance trajectory of ACs/EEs with the AML/CFT standards. The final part of the book provides a detailed explanation of the compliance challenges of ACs/EEs and the legitimacy concerns that facilitate this. This book offers a new direction on the impact of global AML/CFT standards on ACs/EEs and contributes to the understanding of the conditions under which the global standards are likely to facilitate proactive compliance within these blocs of countries. As such it will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers and policy-makers working in this area.

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.

A concise and practical guide to domestic laws dealing with proceeds of crime and money laundering including recent amendments to the Criminal Code and new anti-terrorism legislation.

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.