PMLA 2002’s Gremlins: Anatomizing the Labyrinth of Recent Amendments and Precedent

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaideep Singh Lalli ◽  
Nikita Garg

Abstract Enacted to regulate the incubus of organized crime, India’s Prevention of Money Laundering Act has quickly degenerated into interpretative chaos, with conflicting judicial opinions straining its otherwise sound provisions. Instead of chastening statutory mercuriality, close to eleven amendments to the Act have only fuelled incertitude further. The most damaging feature of the PMLA’s disarray is that the interpretive conflict eclipses the most basic punitive machinery of the Act. Part 2 of the article clarifies the relationship between the offence of money laundering and its predicate offences in the realm of how the latter ought to influence property attachment and prosecution proceedings for the former. Part 3 dissects the complication of Indian Criminal Procedure’s applicability to investigations under the PMLA and proposes an inventive two-step enquiry to determine the extent of said applicability in view of the provisions of both statutes. Part 4 chronicles the peculiar acquiescence of some Indian courts in not insisting upon furnishing written grounds of arrest to a detenu and explains why that jurisprudential course deserves to be abandoned. Lastly, Part 5 addresses the topical disputation of the effect of recent amendments on the potential revival of sui generis bail conditions under the PMLA that had previously been declared unconstitutional. The article presents a syncretism of recommended interpretative paths that the judiciary must take to remedy the recognized flaws.

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 528-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magnus Hörnqvist

This article repositions sovereignty on the basis of a study of recent regulatory approaches to organized crime and money laundering. The spread of techniques across administrative domains is traced through organizational documents and interviews with practitioners, and related to an observed trend toward integration between policing research and regulation research. The same trend, however, assigns sovereignty to the periphery. A richer notion of sovereignty is recovered through a reading of the classical theorists, and used to tease out the articulation of sovereignty in current state strategies. Theorizing ‘sovereignty at the center’ as opposed to ‘sovereignty at the periphery’ challenges basic assumptions about the relationship between the state and economic activity, and in particular about the utility-oriented character of state violence.


Temida ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 5-21
Author(s):  
Vesna Nikolic-Ristanovic

This paper tends to explore the relationship between structural victimisation and criminal behavior of people traffickers in Serbia. Looking for conditions under which people in transition and war affected societies create individual choices and motivations, the author attempted to contribute to better understanding of trafficking in people in Serbia, as the form of organized and professional crime, as well as survival strategy. The main theoretical departure of the analysis is economic approach to crime as well as concept of organized crime as criminal enterprise, which represents illegal counterpart of the legal enterprise. Trafficking in people is explored primarily from the prospective of labor market as well as criminal enterprise where division of jobs, status and power is organized in the similar way as in legal enterprise. In the concluding part, possible social responses are mapped which may be considered as alternatives or supplements to penalties for low level people traffickers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 1503-1507
Author(s):  
Tatijana Ashtalkoska-Baloska ◽  
Aleksandra Srbinovska-Doncevski

Money laundering its serious problem which threatens global financial system for a long time, hence measures against money laundering are part of one global system of criminal justice and policy against transnational organized crime, starting with predicting actions as criminal offences, precision its basic elements, giving priority of property sanctions and measures as a part of penal policy against this type of crime, but also finding new mechanism, in a way of detection and procedure of these illicit actions. This notion covers various activities directed against legalization of money acquired with committing crime, and therefore the center of injustice is exactly in covering criminal origin of money and including in legal financial flows. Although, in terms of detection and combating of this phenomenon, apart from the basic criminal offense, the money laundering operation itself and the predicate act often constitute a problem with regard to processing, which, if is not proved can constitute an additional obstacle of the procedure against the basic offence, as well as seizure of funds that are illegally obtained through such criminal activities. In this regard, the aim of this paper is to emphasize the necessity of building a global anti-money laundering system containing legislative measures as a first step in the control of money laundering and institutional restructuring for the effective enforcement of the existing criminal legislation. Criminalization and control of money laundering is complemented by confiscation of property and property gain acquired by such criminal activity, as measure which should enable reduction of financial power of criminal offenders and possibility of further committing of crime.


2021 ◽  
pp. 54-66
Author(s):  
Argus Ariel Gómez Mendiola

The aim of this essay is to present a brief introduction to the crime of money laundering, starting from its conceptualization as well as the purpose sought by the mechanisms that are implemented to operate the resources of illicit origin. A mention is made of the origin of the term ""money laundering"" and why the term money is used specifically. Organized crime mainly integrates the great fluxes of illicit capital it generates into the financial systems of various countries, with the aim of laundering money in its different stages. This, however, impacts different activities of countries and societies in general. The phenomenon of money laundering must be focused from a wide and global perspective to appreciate the real magnitude of the problem, since it undermines the rule of law, therefore have been detected some activities that are particularly vulnerable to being carried out to money laundering, which are being controlled more severely to stop the flux of this type of capital.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kalle Johannes Rose

Purpose Recent research shows that because of money-laundering risks, there has been an increase in the off-boarding of certain types of corporate clients in the financial sector. This phenomenon known as “de-risking” has been argued to have a negative impact on society, because it increases the possible risk of money laundering. The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether the de-risking strategy of financial institutions results in an expansion of the regulatory framework concerning anti-money laundering focusing on off-boarding of clients and, if so, is there a way to avoid further regulation by changing present behavior. Design/methodology/approach This paper applies functional methods to law and economics to achieve higher efficiency in combating money laundering. Findings In this paper, it is found that the continuing of de-risking by financial institutions because of the avoidance strategy of money-laundering risks will inevitably result in further regulatory demands regarding the off-boarding process of clients. The legal basis for the introduction of further regulatory intervention is that some of the de-risking constitutes a direct contradiction to the aim of the present regulatory framework, making the behavior non-compliant to the regulation. Originality/value There has been very little research concerning de-risking related to money laundering. The present research has focused on the effect on society and not the relationship between the financial institutions and the regulator. This paper raises an important and present problem, as the behavior of the financial institutions constitute a response from the regulator that is contradicting the thoughts behind the behavior of the financial institutions. It is found that the paper is highly relevant if an expansion of regulation is to be hindered.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgy Rusanov ◽  
Yury Pudovochkin

Purpose Purpose of the study is to show the relationships of money laundering with predicate offenses. Design/methodology/approach Each of these groups of crimes was investigated against the following criteria: statistical data on convictions and the proportion of prisoners in the general structure of a criminal record, links to organized crime, methods of money laundering and proportion of laundered money received from a particular predicate offense in the total amount of money laundered. Findings Based on the study of Russian legislation and practice peculiarities of this relationship, the features of the following relationships were revealed: relationship between widespread and relatively easy-to-control crimes against the property and drug trafficking and high latent and more difficult-to-control corruption and economic crimes. Originality/value As a result, it was concluded that there is a potential connection between the public danger of money laundering, the degree of crime organization and efficiency of the process of money laundering depending on the type of a predicate offense.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 472-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard John Lowe

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight the need for predictive intelligence to support anti-money laundering programs in the financial sector. Design/methodology/approach The methodology adopted herein consists of a literature review on the use of intelligence in anti-money laundering, the sources of intelligence and information used in the financial sector, supported by experience gained from investigating and prosecuting money laundering cases, and the assistance provided to financial services companies. Findings Banks and other regulated services are required to meet international standards to deny services to criminals and terrorists, identify suspicious activity and report to the authorities. Regulated businesses have large operations which check customers against sources that confirm their identity or against lists of proscribed or suspected offenders at an individual or national level. Their controls tend to look backwards when other organisations that rely on intelligence, such as the military, value predictive, forward-looking intelligence. The penalties that banks and others face for failure in their controls are increasingly severe, as looking backwards and not forwards reduces the extent to which the controls meet their purpose of reducing the impact of organized crime and terrorism. Originality/value This paper serves as a useful guide to alert and educate anti-money laundering professionals, law enforcement and policy makers of the importance of predictive intelligence in countering organized crime and terrorism. It also considers whether lessons in intelligence handling from other areas can inform a debate on how intelligence can be developed to counter money laundering.


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