NCJ Number
154325
Journal
Duke Journal of Comparative and International Law Dated: (1991) Pages: 213-240
Date Published
1991
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This note critiques five proposals that the national legislatures in Europe are most likely to consider in devising legislation designed to combat money laundering from drug trafficking.
Abstract
As defined in this article, money laundering is "the process by which one conceals the existence, illegal source or illegal application of income and then disguises that income in such a way as to make it appear legitimate." Most Western European nations participate in at least five international organizations that have addressed money laundering. All five have issued formal plans designed to encourage the adoption of uniform money laundering legislation by their member states. These are the U.N. Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, which was signed in Vienna in 1988; the Basle Statement of Principles on Money Laundering Practices; the G-7 Financial Action Task Force recommendations on anti-money laundering measures; the Council of the European Community's directive on Prevention of Use of the Financial System for the Purpose of Money Laundering; and the Council of Europe's Convention on Money Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of Proceeds From Crime. These proposals are compared and critiqued in the areas of the principal offense, accomplice liability, and bank secrecy. Enforcement issues examined are investigation, extradition, the acquiring of admissible evidence, and forfeiture. The author advises that it is critical to compare and reconcile these five European proposals for combatting money laundering before submitting them to national legislatures for implementation; only a single, comprehensive, and coordinated plan can effectively counter money laundering. 177 footnotes