South Pacific transnational money laundering typologies
| Published date | 02 October 2017 |
| Pages | 345-353 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-11-2016-0045 |
| Date | 02 October 2017 |
| Author | John Chelliah,Anita Prasad |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & Finance,Financial risk/company failure,Financial compliance/regulation,Financial crime |
South Pacific transnational money
laundering typologies
John Chelliah and Anita Prasad
Department of Management, Fiji National University, Nasinu, Suva, Fiji
Abstract
Purpose –The paper aims to present typologiesof transnational money laundering in South Pacific island
countries,thereby filling a gap in the extant literature.
Design/methodology/approach –This paper is based on seven significant transnational money
laundering cases involving South Pacific island nations. It provides analyses of the modus operandi of
criminalsand classifies those according to typologies from anti-moneylaundering authorities and bodies.
Findings –Typologies of money laundering have arrived through a content analysis of seven cases
involving transnational money laundering destined for South Pacific island nations. The typologies which
have emergedshow the predominant forms of transnational moneylaundering in this region. This knowledge
could be useful to government policy-makers and financial institutions pursuing anti-money laundering
initiatives.
Originality/value –There is a dearth of academic research into typologies of transnational money
laundering involving the South Pacific. This paper makes a useful contribution to the extant literature by
providingthe most recent typologies in this respect.
Keywords Money laundering concepts, Transnational money laundering, Typologies
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Countries in the South Pacific, also referred to as the Pacific Islands, include Papua New
Guinea (PNG), American Samoa,the Cook and Solomon Islands, Fiji, Nauru, New Caledonia,
Tokelau, French Polynesia, Tonga, Guam, Niue, the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated
States of Micronesia, Tuvalu,Kiribati, Palau, Vanuatu, the Republic of the Marshall Islands,
Pitcairn Island, and the island of Wallis and Futuna. Collectively, they have a population of
approximately 9.937mpeople (United Nations Population Fund, 2014;Reilly, 2004).
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has alleged that
money laundering (ML) through Pacific island states poses a threat to the world’s banking
system, and in the past, the OECD had threatened to impose sanctions (Oxford Analytica
Daily Brief Service, 2001). There are many legislative measures in place for island states
such as Fiji and Vanuatu to counter ML (van Fossen, 2003). The Pacific region is
experiencing varying scales of international ML, for example, the Russian Central Bank in
1999 claimed that US$70bn flowed through more than 400 banks registered to a single
address in Nauru in the year 1998 (Reserve Bank of Fiji, 2004). ML is a process through
which proceeds of crime, often referred to as “dirty cash”(Murray, 2016), is concealed or
disguised illegally, so that they appear to have originated from legitimate sources (USA
Department of the Treasury, 2015;INTERPOL, 2016;He, 2010). This paper provides
insights into ML in South Pacific island nations through analyses of recent cases and
categorises each case according to typologies made available by international anti-money
laundering authorities. In the anti-moneylaundering context, the term “typologies”refers to
the various techniques used to launder money. ML typologies, in any given location, are
Transnational
money
laundering
typologies
345
Journalof Money Laundering
Control
Vol.20 No. 4, 2017
pp. 345-353
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1368-5201
DOI 10.1108/JMLC-11-2016-0045
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