The implications of the Brexit from EU and bitcoin
| Pages | 137-149 |
| Published date | 13 July 2020 |
| Date | 13 July 2020 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-05-2020-0050 |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & Finance,Financial risk/company failure,Financial compliance/regulation,Financial crime |
| Author | Tareq Na'el Al-Tawil,Hassan Younies |
The implications of the Brexit
from EU and bitcoin
Tareq Na’el Al-Tawil
Department of Accounting, College of Business, Zayed University,
Abu Dhabi Campus, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and
Hassan Younies
School of Management, New York Institute of Technology, Abu Dhabi Campus,
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to tackle the most pressingissues confronting global anti-money
laundering (AML) efforts,particularly, the implications of the Brexit from EU and the increasing association
of bitcoin and cryptocurrencieswith crimes.
Design/methodology/approach –This paper will evaluate the implications of Brexit to AML efforts
and the threat that cryptocurrencieslike bitcoin pose to the financial system.
Findings –Instead of banning trade and other transactions using BTC and other cryptocurrencies,financial
experts, with the able assistance of IT and mining experts, from all over the world need to convene and tailor an
effective regulatory framework. Solid cooperation among the international community, supported by unitary
standards and procedures, will help boost the worlds AML/combattingthe financing of terrorism (CFT) efforts.
As an added bonus, effective regulation, monitoring and control can facilitate more efficient tax collection.
Originality/value –Recommendationswere advanced about the future of AML/CFT effortsand the need
for internationallyholistic approaches in combattingthese twin scourges on all economies.
Keywords Money laundering, Bitcoin, Brexit
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
To attempt a legal definition of money laundering is a challenge in itself because such
description tends to vary between legal instruments and jurisdictions (Hinterseer,
2002). Nevertheless, it is an imperative to commence this paper with a working and
precise definition of the term money laundering to encapsulate the latitudinous
dimensions of the multi-pronged challenges that such illicit activity poses. In essence,
money laundering operations facilitate interface of the illegal or informal economy with
that of the legal and formal economic networks. The preceding linkage steers towards
economic activities ranging from illegal to downright criminal. In this paper, the
definition of money laundering was synthesised from insights drawn from a number of
relevant literature:
Money laundering is an economic process applied to an object associated with an unlawful act to
surreptitiously conceal the taint of illegality [...]Itemploysfinancial, accounting, legal and other
instruments in conjunction with an object that has either been used in or derived from unlawful
activity. The primary purpose of the process is to create a veil of legal cleanliness around the object
[...] [which] not only prevents the object’s association with unlawful activity from being accurately
traced and identified, but also enables the object to be used in the legal economy with anonymity and
without fear of criminal, civil, orequitable legal sanction (Hinterseer, 2002, pp. 11-12).
Brexit from
EU and bitcoin
137
Journalof Money Laundering
Control
Vol.24 No. 1, 2021
pp. 137-149
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1368-5201
DOI 10.1108/JMLC-05-2020-0050
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