Definitions
Money laundering is the process criminals use to conceal and disguise the source, destination, or ownership of money and property earned through criminal activity.
Money laundering investigation is the process of identifying money laundering activity for the purpose of stopping it, reporting it to government, or prosecuting it.
Introduction
Money laundering exists because there are successful criminals. Many individuals and organizations commit crime for the purpose of making money, and a considerable amount of criminal activity is conducted for financial gain (OECD 2016). Some criminals are successful in this activity, which means they have the ability to accumulate profits and wealth from their illicit activity. With the prosecution of Al Capone in the 1920s, government realized that one method to identify and prosecute these successful criminal individuals and enterprises was by “following the money.” After that, criminals learned they needed to hide and disguise this...
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References
ACAMS Study Guide for the Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) Certification Exam. (2016). ACAMS, 6th ed., p. 65.
All the President’s Men. (1976). Wildwood enterprises/Warner bros.
Bandler, J. (2016). Cybercrime and digital currency, p. 9, Information Law Journal, A Publication of the Information Security and EDDE Committees, ABA Section of Science & Technology Law, 7 (4), Autumn. https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/science_technology/2016/ilj_volume7_issue4.authcheckdam.pdf
Bandler, J, Lawyers Drugs, and Money, AML in Popular Media, ACAMS TODAY, 20 Mar 2018. https://www.acamstoday.org/lawyers-drugs-and-money-aml-in-popular-media/
Bandler, J. Stemming the flow of cybercrime payments, ACAMS TODAY, 9 June 2017. https://www.acamstoday.org/stemming-the-flow-of-cybercrime-payments/
CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/. Last accessed 26 Apr 2018.
Department of the Treasury. (2015). National Money Laundering Risk Assessment, 2015). https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/terrorist-illicit-finance/Documents/National%20Money%20Laundering%20Risk%20Assessment%20%E2%80%93%2006-12-2015.pdf
FATF (Financial Action Task Force) Report on money laundering typologies, 1998.
FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). https://www.fdic.gov/about/strategic/strategic/mission.html. Last accessed 26 Apr 2018.
FinCEN, (U.S. Department of the Treasury, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) (FinCEN). https://www.fincen.gov/about/mission. Last accessed 26 Apr 2018.
OECD. (2016). Illicit trade: Converging criminal networks, OECD reviews of risk management policies (p. 15). Paris: OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264251847-en.
UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) website. The Money-Laundering Cycle. https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/money-laundering/laundrycycle.html. Last visited 26 Apr 2018.
General References and Further Reading
Government Related
Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units. https://egmontgroup.org/en
Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF). http://www.fatf-gafi.org
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). https://www.treasury.gov/about/organizational-structure/offices/Pages/Office-of-Foreign-Assets-Control.aspx
U.S. Department of the Treasury. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). https://www.fincen.gov
U.S. Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC). Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Information Base, http://www.ffiec.gov/bsa_aml_infobase/default.htm
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. http://www.unodc.org
Professional Organizations
American Bankers Association. https://www.aba.com
Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS). http://www.acams.org
Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA). http://www.fiba.net
International Money Laundering Information Network. http://www.imolin.org/imolin/en
The Anti-Money Laundering Association (AMLA). https://theamla.com
Wolfsberg Group. www.wolfsberg-principles.com
Journalist and Non-profit AML Investigation
Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org
International consortium of investigative journalists. https://www.icij.org/
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. https://www.occrp.org
Statutes
USA PATRIOT Act. For a summary see https://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.htm
31 U.S.C. §5311 et seq. Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).
18 U.S.C. § 1956 Laundering of monetary instruments.
18 U.S.C. § 1957 Engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.
18 U.S.C. § 1960 Unlicensed money transmitting.
31 U.S.C. § 5330 Registration of money transmitting businesses.
NYS Penal Law § 470.00 et seq., Money laundering.
NYS Banking Law § 650, Unlicensed money transmitting.
AML News Sites, Guides, and Articles
ACAMS MoneyLaundering.com. www.moneylaundering.com
ACAMS Study Guide for the Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) Certification Exam. (2016). ACAMS, 6th ed.
Bandler, J. Cybercrime and digital currency. ABA Information Law Journal (Autumn 2016). https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/science_technology/2016/ilj_volume7_issue4.authcheckdam.pdf
Bandler, J. Dirty digital dollars, Fraud Magazine (July/August 2016). http://www.fraud-magazine.com/article.aspx?id=4294993652
Bandler, J. (2017). Stemming the flow of cybercrime payments and money laundering. ACAMS TODAY, 16 (3). http://www.acamstoday.org/stemming-the-flow-of-cybercrime-payments/
Money Laundering Bulletin. https://www.moneylaunderingbulletin.com
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Bandler, J.T. (2018). Investigations: Money Laundering. In: Shapiro, L., Maras, MH. (eds) Encyclopedia of Security and Emergency Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69891-5_26-1
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Latest
Investigations: Money Laundering- Published:
- 12 November 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69891-5_26-2
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Investigations: Money Laundering- Published:
- 29 August 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69891-5_26-1