The role of legal professionals in the European and international legal and regulatory framework against money laundering
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-12-2021-0139 |
| Published date | 03 May 2022 |
| Date | 03 May 2022 |
| Pages | 28-52 |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance,Financial risk/company failure,Financial compliance/regulation,Financial crime |
| Author | Elissavet-Anna Valvi |
The role of legal professionals in
the European and international
legal and regulatory framework
against money laundering
Elissavet-Anna Valvi
Law School, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Abstract
Purpose –The aim of the present study isto shed light on the role of legal practitioners, namely, lawyers
and notaries, in the fight against money laundering:Are they considered as facilitators or obstacles against
money laundering?How does the global and the EU legal frameworkdeal with the legal professionals?
Design/methodology/approach –The research followsa deductive approach attempting to respond to
questions such as: How do the lawyers’and notaries’societies react in front of the anti-money laundering
measures that concern them and why?What are the discrepancies between the lawyers’professional secrecy
and the obligationsthat EU anti-moneylaundering legislation assigns them?
Findings –This study disclosures the response of the European union and international legal and
regulatory framework as well as the reflexes of the international and European legal professionals’
associations to this danger.It also demonstrates the reaction of lawyers against European union anti-money
laundering legislation,to the point that it limits not only the confidentiality principle but also the position of
the European judicialsystems to the contradiction between this principleand the lawyers’obligation to report
their suspicionsto the authorities.
Research limitations/implications –To fulfil the study goals, it was necessary to overcome some
obstacles, like the limitation of existing sources. Indeed, transnational empirical research considering the
professionals who facilitatemoney laundering is narrow. Besides, policymakers and academics onlyrecently
expressedmore interest in money laundering and its facilitators.
© Elissavet-Anna Valvi. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under
the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. 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 license may be
seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
JMLC
26,7
28
Journalof Money Laundering
Control
Vol.26 No. 7, 2023
pp. 28-52
EmeraldPublishing Limited
1368-5201
DOI 10.1108/JMLC-12-2021-0139
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1368-5201.htm
Originality/value –This paper fulfils an identified needto study the legal professionals’role not only in
money launderingpractices but also in anti-money laundering policies.
Keywords Money laundering facilitators, Principle of secrecy, Gatekeepers,
Professionals and money laundering, Money-laundering,
European and international legal and regulatory framework, Legal professionals
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
There is a common element among all kinds of criminal activities, which aim to generate a
profit for the individual or group that carries out the act. It is well-knownas “dirty money,”
which means the proceeds that criminals such as illegal arm sellers, drug dealers, human
traffickers, smugglers, mobsters, blackmailers, insider traders, bribers and those who
commit computer fraud acquire by such kind of activities [1]. Even big companies such as
pharmaceutical, betting, credit companies and investment banks may gain illegal profits
from obscure unlawful activities.So how can all this money be used without being identified
and without betraying its owners? This is the only common question that torments all the
abovementioned actors of both legal and illegal market. The answer to that question is
simply known as money laundering.
According to internationalorganizations, money laundering may account for 2%–5%of
global Gross Domestic Product on an annual basis [2]. As it can be easily assumed,
legalization of incomes thatcome from illegal actions is implemented using as a channel the
financial system, whilethe globalization that has led to markets’conjugationin parallel with
the technological progress offers even betterconditions for profit concealment methods. As
a result, money laundering constitutes a danger for the integrity and the reputation of the
financial system. But not only for that domain. Since more and more complex types of
financial instruments and legal entities emerge and considering the differences between
national laws, criminals need the assistance of specialists to obtain the safest and most
profitable “place”to put their money. Therefore, it also signifies a danger for the lawful
operation of the professionalswho can be approached by organizational crime groups due to
their scientific skills.
As a result, money laundering has been a major concern for the last three decades,
especially for governments of all countries and various international organizations.
Additionally, following the globalization and liberalization of trade and economics, the fight
against money laundering has justifiably been announced as an international threat if a
researcher follows the next specific syllogism: Due to money laundering practices,
manipulative mechanisms are constructed against public order; increasing power of
organized criminals and organizational crime results in the erosion of institutions of pivotal
value for the society. Besides, consideringthe market forces the vice chain of more and more
illegal practices for profits/monetary gains will damage the healthy competition within
sectors such as the pharmaceutical market and the banking system, disorienting
professionals fromthe general principle that science exists forthe benefit of the human.
Taking all these facts into consideration, both the academic world and the law
enforcement officials turn their interest to the role of legal practitioners in dealing with
money laundering procedures. The principal research question of the present dissertation
revolves around the role of legal practitioners, namely lawyers and notaries, in the fight
against money laundering: Are they considered as facilitators or obstacles against money
laundering? To respond to this question, the research will follow a constructive approach
attempting to respond to subsequent questions such as: How the global and the EU legal
Role of legal
professionals
29
To continue reading
Request your trial