Globalisation of Law Enforcement Efforts
| Published date | 01 February 2001 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb027282 |
| Date | 01 February 2001 |
| Pages | 320-332 |
| Author | Joseph J. Aronica,Madhuri Mukhtyar,Jennifer E. Coon |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance |
Journal of Money Laundering Control — Vol. 4 No. 4
Globalisation of Law Enforcement Efforts
Joseph J. Aronica, Madhuri Mukhtyar and Jennifer E. Coon
In the past decade the incidence of international crime
has increased. As Louis Freeh, director of the US
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has stated,
'grave crime is no longer bound by the constraints
of
borders'.1
As such crimes are not limited by state
boundaries — approaching them on an international
level is crucial. Thus, there has been an increased
demand for the globalisation of efforts by law enfor-
cement agencies to halt the rise in business and finan-
cially related crimes such as money laundering, tax
fraud, securities fraud, intellectual property thefts,
extortion, anti-trust violations, computer crime, cor-
rupt business practices and racketeering and combat
violent crimes, terrorism, alien smuggling and drug
trafficking.
This paper will chiefly focus on the globalised
efforts to combat international money laundering
and financial crimes, including a discussion of the
factors which have led to the recent increase in the
occurrence of such crimes. In recent years, due to
the explosion in technology and the overseas expan-
sion of many businesses, international financial crime
has begun to be an increasing threat to the integrity of
financial markets. Because financial crimes are so
insidious in nature, financial institutions may unwit-
tingly participate in such crimes despite internal pre-
ventive efforts. Thus, many US and international
agencies have stepped in to offer their personnel,
their time and their financial support to ensure that
preventive measures arc undertaken to stop the
wave of financial crime on a global level. This
paper will discuss the roles various US and inter-
national agencies and governmental departments
have taken in preventing further exacerbation of
this international problem.
To combat this problem, the USA and other
countries have recently taken a bold step to begin
controlling international crime. Last autumn the
United Nations General Assembly adopted the first
United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime. Although the convention will
not be entered into force until it has been ratified
by 40 countries, this is an important step towards
establishing procedures to remedy international
crime.
The US National Security Strategy goal is to
create 'a climate where the global economy and
open trade are growing, where democratic norms
and respect for human rights arc increasingly
accepted and where terrorism, drug trafficking and
international crime do not undermine stability and
peaceful relations'2 To achieve the goal of this initia-
tive,
the USA has increased the number of mutual
legal assistance treaties (MLATs) to which it is a
party to 41. Thirteen other MLATs have been
signed, but not yet entered into
force.3
The USA has also caused various governmental
agencies and departments to devote manpower and
financial reserves on a full-time basis to this systemic
global problem. The US Federal Bureau of Investiga-
tion (FBI) has devoted tremendous manpower and
reserves to combating this increase in global crime
in 52 countries outside the USA. Its efforts are evident
from its opening of 40 FBI legal attache offices in for-
eign countries since 1993. The FBI also has taken
another important step in ensuring the cooperation
of foreign nations with US federal agencies to
combat crime by opening the International Law
Enforcement Academies in Budapest and Thailand.
FACTORS INVOLVED
Advances in technology and
telecommunications
It is ironic that, as the White House has stated in a
recent press release, 'the same attributes of globalisa-
tion — more open borders, increased volume of
international trade, advances in technology and com-
munications — that have promoted important US
interests have also facilitated the dramatic growth
of international crime'.4 As mentioned above, there
are many specific problems on the global level that
the FBI and other agencies are attempting to
combat which fall under the category of financial
crimes, such as money laundering, tax fraud, anti-
trust violations, securities fraud, intellectual property
thefts,
extortion, computer crime, corrupt business
practices and racketeering. The overseas expansion
of businesses and financial institutions, the integration
of banking and payments systems on an international
level and the marked increase in the use of credit
Journal of Money Laundering Control
Vol.
4, No.
4,2001,
pp. 320-332
© Henry Stewart Publications
ISSN 1368-5201
Page 320
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