Combating Money Laundering: Testimony Before the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services by the Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

• NCJ Number: 173230
• Author(s): J Winer
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 16 pages
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services; Superintendent of Documents
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This is an update on recent Federal efforts to combat money laundering.

Abstract

Money laundering generally involves a series of multiple transactions used to disguise the source of financial assets so those assets may be used without compromising the criminals seeking to use the funds. The three elements of the complete laundering of funds are: "placement" of funds into a financial services institution; "layering" (the movement of funds from institution to institution to hide the source and ownership of the funds); and "integration" (the reinvestment of those funds in an ostensibly legitimate business). The paper describes countermeasures to all of those activities; discusses why it is important to fight money laundering; and examines current global trends in money laundering, the Clinton Administration's anti-money laundering activities, international law enforcement academies; treaties and agreements, and asset sharing. Under Multilateral Activities, the paper discusses the Financial Action Task Force, the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering, the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, the Summit of the Americas, Financial Intelligence Units, the Egmont Group, and the Council of Europe. The paper concludes with a discussion of future policy initiatives.