Putting the crooks out of business! The financial war on organised crime and terror
| Pages | 366-369 |
| Published date | 01 October 2003 |
| Date | 01 October 2003 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/13590790310808907 |
| Author | Rosalind Wright CB |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance |
Journal of Financial Crime Ð Vol. 10 No. 4
Putting the Crooks Out of Business! The Financial
War on Organised Crime and Terror
Rosalind Wright
The ultimate aim of major criminals is to make
money. To use that money, its illegitimate prove-
nance has to be concealed and the money washed so
that it can be fed into the wider ®nancial system,
spent on valuable assets or a lavish lifestyle, or, as
usually happens, used to fund further criminal activ-
ities, pay o associates, and increase the power and
in¯uence of the crooks themselves and their gangs.
If the crooks are to be put out of business, follow
the money and attack them directly where it hurts.
Stop them using the money they have obtained
from crime. In the 15 years the Serious Fraud
Oce (SFO) has been in existence, investigating
and prosecuting major fraud, there have been many
examples of money laundering. That experience has
also con®rmed that ecient money laundering
facilities are required by professional and organised
criminals just as much as by the opportunist who
knows a good thing when it comes his way and is
content to take a secret and dishonest advantage.
Terrorists need money to ®nance their evil opera-
tions; organised crime needs to introduce the pro-
ceeds derived from tracking in drugs or people or
arms into the legitimate banking system. All too
often that cannot be done without the help of other
criminals who have, all too frequently, quali®cations
as lawyers, accountants or bankers. There is evidence
that laundering is becoming more and more sophisti-
cated. Professional organised criminals who commit
frauds rely on being able to wash their money
through the banking and ®nancial system.
WHERE TO START?
The frontline for prevention will always be the banks
and ®nancial institutions Ð and increasingly lawyers,
accountants and those who deal in `high value goods'
such as bonds, art and antiques. It has been apparent
for the last 20 years or more that where crimes are
committed for gain, or require funding for success,
then the free ¯ow of tainted money through the
international ®nancial system must be a principal
target for law enforcement. Banking secrecy and
brassplate corporations have been the two major
obstacles to successful criminal investigation for too
long.
The old adage `money has no identity' can be
proved wrong. However fast it moves, however
complex its disguise; there is a trail that can be fol-
lowed and the crock of gold at the end identi®ed
and seized.
The Money Laundering Regulations 1993 are well
and truly bedded down now; the Financial Services
Authority (FSA) is the enforcer (since 1st December,
2001) of the Regulations and the SFO, in common
with other criminal justice system enforcers, takes
responsibility for the investigation and prosecution
of substantive money laundering oences, where
these fall within the general remit to investigate and
prosecute allegations of serious and complex fraud.
The FSA has published its policy on enforcement
of the Regulations and the Money Laundering
Steering Group made up of the National Criminal
Intelligence Service (NCIS), banks and regulators,
published a new issue of its Guidelines for the ®nan-
cial sector in February 2002. The Regulations, of
course, concentrate on ensuring that banks and
other ®nancial institutions have strong prevention
systems and controls in place and provide training
to enable sta to spot and report suspicious transac-
tions. Crucially, institutions must maintain full
records of customer identity. Without their records
it would be impossible to trace the complicated
money movements associated with laundering.
New money laundering regulations come into
force in June 2003. The Regulations will extend to
money transmission agencies and bureaux de
change, which will be regulated by HM Customs
& Excise, and to solicitors, accountants and all
professional advisers.
The substantive oences are set to change under
the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 which has now
come into force. Speci®c new provisions in relation
to money laundering include:
Ð All the three new substantive oences will apply
to laundering the proceeds of one's own crimes
and not merely `handling' in the old sense.
Page 366
Journal of Financial Crime
Vol.10,No. 4, 2003,pp.366 ±369
#HenryStewart Publications
ISSN 1359-0790
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