Money laundering

“ As used in this paragraph, the term ``major money laundering country ́ ́ means a country whose financial institutions engage in currency transactions involving significant amounts of proceeds from international narcotics trafficking. ”

“ The transportation and smuggling of cash in bulk form may now be the most common form of money laundering, and the movement of large sums of cash is one of the most reliable warning signs of drug trafficking, terrorism, money laundering, racketeering, tax evasion and similar crimes. ”

“ Mountains of internal debt, sky-high interest rates, cronyism, other forms of corruption, environmental, urban and rural dilapidation – characterize these economies.
Into this vacuum – the interregnum between centrally planned and free market economies – crept crime. In most of these countries criminals run at least half the economy, are part of the governing elites (influencing them behind the scenes through money contributions, outright bribes, or blackmail) and – through the mechanism of money laundering – infiltrate slowly the legitimate economy. ”

“ Investments by households are only one of the engines of this first kind of asset bubbles. A lot of the money that pours into pyramid schemes and stock exchange booms is laundered, the fruits of illicit pursuits. The laundering of tax-evaded money or the proceeds of criminal activities, mainly drugs, is effected through regular banking channels. The money changes ownership a few times to obscure its trail and the identities of the true owners. ”

“ United States anti-money laundering efforts are impeded by outmoded and inadequate statutory provisions that make investigations, prosecutions, and forfeitures more difficult, particularly in cases in which money laundering involves foreign persons, foreign banks, or foreign countries; (9) the ability to mount effective counter-measures to international money launderers requires national, as well as bilateral and multilateral action, using tools specially designed for that effort ”

“ Because it corrupts government officials, banks and their officers, contaminates legal sectors of the economy, crowds out legitimate and foreign capital, makes money supply unpredictable and uncontrollable, and increases cross-border capital movements, thereby enhancing the volatility of exchange rates. A multilateral, co-ordinated, effort (exchange of information, uniform laws, extra-territorial legal powers) is required to counter the international dimensions of money laundering. Many countries opt in because money laundering has also become a domestic political and economic concern. ”

“ The anti-money laundering administrative department under the State Council and other relevant departments and institutions under the State Council shall prompt financial institutions and specific non-financial institutions to fulfill their anti-money laundering obligations. Upon discovery of a suspicious transaction that may involve organized crime, the relevant department in charge may conduct investigation in accordance with the law, and shall report the case to the public security organ in a timely manner if the suspicion of money laundering cannot be ruled out after investigation. ”

“ Coupled with the tightening of US, UK, and EU laws and the wider interpretation of money laundering to include political corruption, bribery, and embezzlement - this would make life a lot more difficult for venal politicians and major tax evaders. ”

“ In general, money laundering goes well with risk arbitraging financial instruments. Trust-based, globe-spanning, money transfer systems based on authentication codes and generations of commercial relationships cemented in honour and blood - are another wave of the future. The Hawala and Chinese networks in Asia, the Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE) in Latin America, other evolving courier systems in Eastern Europe (mainly in Russia, Ukraine, and Albania) and in Western Europe (mainly in France and Spain) . ”

“ Tax-related laundering nets between 10-20 billion US dollars annually from France and Russia alone. The confluence of criminal and tax averse funds in money laundering networks serves to obscure the sources of both. The Scale of the Problem According to a 1996 IMF estimate, money laundered annually amounts to 2-5% of world GDP (between 800 billion and 2 trillion US dollars in today's terms) . The lower figure is considerably larger than an average European economy, such as Spain's.
The System It is important to realize that money laundering takes place within the banking system. ”

“ Money laundering watchlist- Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall develop, implement, and certify to the Congress that there has been established a money laundering watchlist, which identifies individuals worldwide who are known or suspected of money laundering, which is readily accessible to, and shall be checked by, a consular or other Federal official prior to the issuance of a visa or admission to the United States. ”

“ It is stealthily re-introduced to the very economy that it so sought to evade, in the form of investment capital or other financial assets (loans and credits) . Its anxious owners are preoccupied with legitimising their stillborn cash through the conduit of tax-fearing enterprises, or with lending it to same. The emphasis is on the word: "legitimate". The money surges in through mysterious and anonymous foreign corporations, via off-shore banking centres, even through respectable financial institutions (the Bank of New York we mentioned?) . It is easy to recognize a laundering operation. ”

“ Findings— The Congress finds that— (1) money laundering, estimated by the International Monetary Fund to amount to between 2 and 5 percent of global gross domestic product, which is at least $600,000,000,000 annually, provides the financial fuel that permits transnational criminal enterprises to conduct and expand their operations to the detriment of the safety and security of American citizens; (2) money laundering, and the defects in financial transparency on which money launderers rely, are critical to the financing of global terrorism and the provision of funds for terrorist attacks ”

“ Money laundering- In every case, the responsible agency, shall take into consideration the effectiveness of any insured depository institution involved in the proposed merger transaction in combatting money laundering activities, including in overseas branches.'. (2) Scope of application— The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to any application submitted to the responsible agency under section 18 (c) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act after December 31, 2001, which has not been approved by all appropriate responsible agencies before the date of enactment of this Act. ”

“ The criminal underworld exploits the politicians.
Politicians give criminals access to state owned assets and resources. These are an integral part of the money laundering cycle. "Dirty" money is legitimized through the purchase of businesses and real estate from the state.
Politicians induce state institutions to turn a blind eye to the criminal activities of their collaborators and ensure lenient law enforcement. They also help criminals eliminate internal and external competition in their territories. ”

“ The CBI shall issue and periodically update a list of financial activities which
may constitute "suspicious transactions" for the purposes of this Act, including
money laundering, financing crime, financing terrorism, transactions involving
funds over which a criminal organization has a right of disposal, or transactions
designed to evade reporting, recording, or other legal requirements. The CBI shall
publish the list for the benefit of financial institutions. ”

“ PENALTY FOR MONEY LAUNDERING CONSPIRACIES. Section 1956 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting at the end the following new subsection: `` (g) Any person who conspires to commit any offense defined in this section or section 1957 shall be subject to the same penalties as those prescribed for the offense the commission of which was the object of the conspiracy. ”

“ A financial institution may report a transaction or transactions to the Money
Laundering Reporting Office under this Article, if the financial institution believes
that the transaction or transactions are relevant to a possible violation of any law or
regulation, even if the report is not required under this Act.
3.
Financial institutions shall keep separate files containing all documents related to
reporting pursuant to this Article. Financial institutions shall only transmit data in
such files to the CBI, the Money Laundering Reporting Office and the prosecuting
authorities. ”

“ Where supervisory organs, public security organs, or the people's procuratorates discover money laundering activities related to organized crime, as well as other crimes such as the concealment of the illegal gains from such crimes or the proceeds from the illegal gains, they shall investigate these crimes in accordance with the law. ”

“ Agencies may request the Department of the Treasury, under terms and conditions prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, to search automated data bases consisting of reports of currency transactions by financial institutions, international transportation of currency or monetary instruments, foreign bank and financial accounts, and transactions under $10,000 that are reported as possible money laundering violations. ”

“ In general- In making a finding that reasonable grounds exist for concluding that a jurisdiction outside of the United States, 1 or more financial institutions operating outside of the United States, 1 or more classes of transactions within, or involving, a jurisdiction outside of the United States, or 1 or more types of accounts is of primary money laundering concern so as to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to take 1 or more of the special measures described in subsection (b) , the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General. ”

“ And Osama bin Laden would not have been able to wire funds to US accounts from the Sudanese Al Shamal Bank, the "correspondent" of 33 American banks. Quo Vadis, Money Laundering? Crime is resilient and fast adapting to new realities. Organized crime is in the process of establishing an alternative banking system, only tangentially connected to the West's, in the fringes, and by proxy.
This is done by purchasing defunct banks or banking licences in territories with lax regulation, cash economies, corrupt politicians, no tax collection, but reasonable infrastructure. ”

“ In their effort to avoid using traditional financial institutions, drug dealers and other criminals are forced to move large quantities of currency in bulk form to and through the airports, border crossings, and other ports of entry where the currency can be smuggled out of the United States and placed in a foreign financial institution or sold on the black market. ”

“ The current penalties for violations of the currency reporting requirements are insufficient to provide a deterrent to the laundering of criminal proceeds. In particular, in cases where the only criminal violation under current law is a reporting offense, the law does not adequately provide for the confiscation of smuggled currency. In contrast, if the smuggling of bulk cash were itself an offense, the cash could be confiscated as the corpus delicti of the smuggling offense. (b) Purposes— The purposes of this section are— (1) to make the act of smuggling bulk cash itself a criminal offense ”

“ To avoid doubt, it is not necessary, in order to prove for the purposes of this Division an intention or risk that money or property will be an instrument of crime, to establish that: (a) an intention or risk that a particular offence will be committed in relation to the money or property; or (b) an intention or risk that a particular person will commit an offence in relation to the money or property. ”

“ Assume that a person deals with money or property that is the proceeds of crime. While the person believes it to be proceeds of crime, he or she is under a mistaken but reasonable belief that it is worth $90,000 when it is in fact worth $120,000. ”

“ The intentional transportation into or out of the United States of large amounts of currency or monetary instruments, in a manner designed to circumvent the mandatory reporting provisions of subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code,, [3] is the equivalent of, and creates the same harm as, the smuggling of goods. ”

“ The Reporting Office shall:
a.
collect, process, analyze, and disseminate information on financial transactions
subject to financial monitoring and reporting;
b.
participate in implementing Iraqi policy on preventing money laundering,
financing of crime, and financing of terrorism;
c.
cooperate and interact with and exchange information with Iraqi state authorities,
competent bodies of other countries and international organizations on money
laundering, financing of crime, and financing of terrorism ”