The concept of money laundering: a quest for legal definition
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-05-2020-0045 |
| Published date | 24 August 2021 |
| Date | 24 August 2021 |
| Pages | 725-736 |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance,Financial risk/company failure,Financial compliance/regulation,Financial crime |
| Author | Muhammad Saleem Korejo,Ramalinggam Rajamanickam,Muhamad Helmi Md. Said |
The concept of money laundering:
a quest for legal definition
Muhammad Saleem Korejo
Business Administration Department, Sukkur IBA University, Sukkur, Pakistan
and Faculty of Law, National University of Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia, and
Ramalinggam Rajamanickam and Muhamad Helmi Md. Said
Faculty of Law, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to focus on the concept of money laundering and explores the evolution and
expansion of criminalization of predicate offences to the money laundering within the international
anti-money laundering (AML) regimeover the time. It proposes how to limit the size and scope of predicate
offencesin designing a balanced legal definition.
Design/methodology/approach –This paper opted a content analysis focussedon the criminalization
aspect of offences to money laundering in the international AML regime under the United Nations
Conventions(Vienna, Palermo and Corruption Convention) and FinancialAction Task Force Standards.
Findings –This paper provides how the criminalizationof money laundering has evolved and its definition
expanded over the time. The international definition is widely drafted with widerange of predicate offences
from proceeds of drug money to corruption,including terrorist financing and terrorist acts; however, the two
phenomena –money launderingand terrorist financing are quiet distinct apart. This continual expansionof
predicate offences quite leads legality issues such as over-criminalization and conflict with principles of
criminal law. This paper suggests an approach to limit the size and scope of predicate offences to money
laundering.
Practical implications –This paper includesimplications for the development of a balanced approach in
defining predicateoffences through a qualitative limitationapproach consistent with the minimalist theoryof
penalizationof criminal law.
Originality/value –This paper attainsan identified issue how the legal definition of the money laundering
offence can be improvedwhile considering rule of law and principles of criminal law concerns.
Keywords Money laundering, Proceeds of crime, Predicate offence, FATF, AML, Legal definition
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The issue of money laundering came to the surface following incidents like the Panama
repots, the Paradise Papers, the Swiss leaks and other journalistic investigations, which
highlighted the part played by offshore entities in global money laundering programmes,
which raised global voices for the conceptualization and implementation of effectivecounter
money laundering programmes. Money laundering is the process of conversion of illicit
© Muhammad Saleem Korejo, Ramalinggam Rajamanickam and Muhamad Helmi Md. Said.
Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative
works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to
the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://
creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
Concept of
money
laundering
725
Journalof Money Laundering
Control
Vol.24 No. 4, 2021
pp. 725-736
EmeraldPublishing Limited
1368-5201
DOI 10.1108/JMLC-05-2020-0045
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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