NCJ Number
105112
Date Published
1984
Length
201 pages
Annotation
This transcript of a hearing before the President's Commission on Organized Crime in New York City on March 14, 1984, contains testimony on organized crime's 'money laundering' presented by commission staff, persons with first-hand knowledge of organized crime's money laundering, and Treasury Department representatives responsible for overseeing compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act.
Abstract
'Money laundering' is the process of concealing the existence, illegal source, or illegal application of income and the disguise of that income to make it appear legitimate. Testimony indicates that several factors currently limit the ability of police and the commission to estimate organized crime's income. These factors include such data's lack of utility in crime investigations, the incompleteness and fragmentation of such data among law enforcement agencies, and the lack of reliable techniques for extrapolating the partial data. Testimony on particular money laudering operations shows dependence on financial institutions that either do not recognize the indications of money laundering activity or accept funds for laundering without questions. Testimony highlights the value of the Bank Secrecy Act (requires bank reporting of specified currency transactions) to the Internal Revenue Service and the Customs Service in detecting and investigation money laundering operations.