Concepts of Money Laundering
Concepts of Money Laundering
Concepts of Money Laundering
Is to conceal criminal activity associated with it, including crimes it generated such as drug trafficking, tax evasion, corruption, extortion, circumventing regulations etc Process by which criminals attempt to hide and disguise the true origin and ownership of the proceeds of criminal activities, thereby avoiding prosecution, conviction and confiscation of criminal funds(IBA definition) Process by which dirty money appear clean or profits of criminal activities are made to appear legitimate.
Concepts - contd..
Organized criminal groups use money laundering as a means to reinvest money. The main objective is to get the illegal funds back to the individual or group of individuals who generated them. Financial intermediaries (banks, financial institutions) are used to change money gained from illegal businesses into acceptable and transferable units, turning illegal gain into legal tender
Concepts - contd..
ML generally refers to washing of the proceeds or profits generated from: Drug trafficking South Asian People smuggling African Countries Financial frauds Arms, Antique and gold smuggling Illegal sale of wild life products and others. Prostitution rings Corruption
Concepts - contd..
ML every year $600 Billion to $2 Trillion.
Financial powers Big time criminals Use professionals to create legal structure/ entities which act as a front
Types/Techniques
Debit/Credit Cards Deposit structuring (or smurfing) Connected accounts Connected to each other Alternative Remittance services the hawala route Loan back arrangements Forex money changers Investment banking and the securities sectors Insurance and personal investment products Correspondent banking Lawyers, Accountants and other intermediaries Mis-use of non-profit organizations Use of Payable through accounts by international launderers
Types/Techniques Contd
Use of legal persons Corrupt Politicians/Public officials Underground banking /alternative banking
Countries in asia - well established legal alternative banking systems that allow undocumented deposits , withdrawals & transfers. Are trust based systems and often have ancient roots, leave no paper trail and operate outside government control. Eg. Hawala system in Pakistan and India and Fie Chen system in China.
Illegal Sources
Kidnap and extortion Smuggling Fraud including credit card fraud Misuse of non-profit organisations and charities Fraud, thefts and robbery and Drug trafficking
Impact On Economy
Unpredictable changes in money demand Risks to banking system - Reputational risk, legal risk, operational risk, concentration risk. Increased volatility of international capital flows Increased volatility of exchange rates due to unanticipated cross asset transfers. Economic and political influence of criminals can change social systems, ethical standards Crime can infiltrate financial bodies, public officials/ governments Macro economic situations Money laundering poses a serious threat to the international community and financial systems in countries the world over
SATYAM - Issue
The Enforcement Directorate has registered a case against Satyam Computer and its tainted founder-chairman B Ramalinga Raju for alleged money laundering. The ED sources alleged that Raju had diverted funds of Satyam into purchasing nearly 50 plots in Medchal and Qutbullahpur near Hyderabad The ED alleged that several hundred crore rupees had been diverted from the Satyam Computer accounts and had been invested in purchasing land and other infrastructure for Maytas. The Directorate will go through deals of the IT company and ascertain their genuineness including payments made to acquire companies abroad. The ED will also send a team to a few countries to investigate and get documents of bank accounts opened in violation of Indian laws
recently blocked the application of Swiss bank UBS for a banking license in India on the ground that it was involved in $8 billion money-laundering racket RBI said it put the UBS application on hold because the bank failed to cooperate in a money-laundering case in which controversial Bombay-based businessman Hasan Ali Khan was involved. Khan is charged with large-scale breaching of India's currency controls. _ RBI investigators found the link between UBS and Khan, as the businessman had deposited $8 billion at a Zurich branch of UBS. _ They cited it as direct evidence for blocking the license of the bank.
Risk Factors
Vulnerabilities
Entities may not be regulated Customer anonymity(Secrecy) No face to face relationship Anonymous funding(Promissory notes) Cross border transfers access to cash globally through ATMs