Money laundering: A primer for banking staff

Naheem, Mohammed Ahmad

doi:10.1057/jdg.2015.10

Cited by 28 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…This phenomenon of over-reporting has been noted in research by Norton (2018). Naheem (2016) noted that banks must deal with increasingly sophisticated laundering techniques. Historically, governments have addressed the crime through national regulations, which in most cases have arisen because of the state's focus on prevention of the trade in illegal narcotics.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 85%

Perception versus reality: Iranian banks and international anti-money laundering expectations

Imeny¹,

Norton²,

Salehi³

et al. 2020

JMLC

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Purpose Iran has been ranked by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as one of the foremost countries in the world for money laundering. However, Iranian banks claim that they comply with international standards for reporting suspicious activity, risk management and training. This paper aims to investigate this dichotomy between perception and reality. Design/methodology/approach A Wolfsberg-style questionnaire was sent to partners in Iranian accounting firms, which have audited domestic banks over the past five years to investigate the adequacy of risk management systems. Findings Most Iranian banks have anti-money laundering (AML) systems, which compare favourably with those of international counterparties. Banks take a risk-based approach to potential criminal behaviour. The negative perception of Iranian banks is principally attributable to the government’s unwillingness to accede to “touchstone” international conventions. In spite of having in place AML laws, which are comparable in intent with those of the UK and the United States of America (USA), weak enforcement remains a significant impediment of which the political establishment is aware. Practical implications Measures required to bring Iranian banks into compliance with international standards may be less extensive than perceptions suggest. However, failure of the government to accede to conventions stipulated by the FATF means that banks may remain ostracised by foreign counterparties for the foreseeable future. Originality/value This study provides a unique insight into the extent of AML compliance in Iranian banks as verified by external auditors.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 85%

Perception versus reality: Iranian banks and international anti-money laundering expectations

Imeny¹,

Norton²,

Salehi³

et al. 2020

JMLC

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“…There are a number of articles that address the issue of suspicious money laundering transactions from a theoretical perspective (Levi et al 2018;He 2010;Simser 2013), as well as articles that address the same issue through case studies (Naheem 2016;Raza et al 2020;Gilmour 2020), but an approach from the statistical perspective of the suspicious transactions available in the annual reports for recent years has not been found.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficiency of Money Laundering Countermeasures: Case Studies from European Union Member States

Cotoc

Nițu

Şcheau

et al. 2021

Risks

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The aim of this study is to present the trends and effectiveness of money laundering countermeasures from the perspective of a number of suspicious transactions reported to the Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), a number of analysis results submitted to law enforcement authorities, and the typologies of cases in European Union Member States. In order to determine the impact of the joint effort in the fight against money laundering, we used descriptive statistics to process the data and case studies from annual reports of the European FIUs for 2018 and 2019. The results of our study highlight the increase in the number of suspicious transactions notices, as well as in their quality level. There is an increasing tendency towards information exchange between European Union countries regarding the suspicion of money laundering, but there is no stable trend for referring cases to law enforcement and other responsible institutions. Based on the available data, it can be concluded that the EU anti money laundering measures are efficient, but further steps are needed to achieve higher international coordination and cooperation.

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“…The role of banks in the prevention and detection of TBML is an interesting one and will be returned to at a later point in the paper. Here is a list of some of the paperwork that may accompany an international trade transaction (Naheem, 2016): Commercial invoiceinformation on weight and description of goods.…”

Section: Definition and Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Naheem finds that the simplicity of the FATF definition creates an overdependence on certain oversight variables and as such a new framework for banks, including the concept of beneficial ownership, is required to address the emerging problem of TBML. Naheem (2016), in developing a model for banks to act as the stopgap agency for combatting TBML, suggests that the term TBML is too limiting and should be replaced with something more inclusive such as trade fraud. In that article, he argues that a more robust framework is required for banks because it is the banks that have a central role in the identification and facilitation of TBML.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trade-based money laundering: organized crime, learning and international trade

Hataley

2020

JMLC

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the link between trade-based money laundering and organized crime. Trade-based money laundering (TBML) has emerged as the newest and possibly most complex method used by organized crime and white-collar crime groups for illegally laundering money in the international financial system. Using legitimate global trade streams, criminal organizations are able to transfer billions of dollars annually between jurisdictions without having to adhere to state-level currency regulations. Design/methodology/approach Using a rational approach to understanding the behavior of criminal organizations, it is argued that TBML will continue to grow as a preferred methodology for laundering money internationally. As criminal organizations continue to be displaced from the more traditional methods of money laundering, they will look for and find TBML as a viable alternative for moving money between different jurisdictions. Findings As the methodology becomes more developed, the skill set will transfer to an increasing number of organized crime groups and be incorporated as a mainstream method for laundering and moving money. Practical implications To stay current with contemporary money laundering schemes, law enforcement agencies will have to train their investigators to spot, investigate and collect requisite evidence for successful prosecution and disruption of TBML offences. Moreover, in the absence of a global regime for sharing trade and customs information, legislators and law enforcement agencies will have to consider how to best expedite the sharing of trade and customs information. Originality/value This is the only study to address TBML as an emerging money laundering technique and the transfer of the skill between organized crime groups. It further details the skills that police investigators needs to develop to successfully combat TBML.

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Money laundering: A primer for banking staff

Cited by 28 publications

References 12 publications

Perception versus reality: Iranian banks and international anti-money laundering expectations

Perception versus reality: Iranian banks and international anti-money laundering expectations

Efficiency of Money Laundering Countermeasures: Case Studies from European Union Member States

Trade-based money laundering: organized crime, learning and international trade

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