Peculiarities of countering legalization of criminal income with the help of virtual assets: legislative regulation and practical implementation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to define and characterize peculiarities of countering the legalization of criminal income with the help of virtual assets. Design/methodology/approach The analysis of the legislative delineation and the realities of the practical implementation of the features of combating the legalization of criminal proceeds with the help of virtual assets in Ukraine was carried out with the help of general scientific methods of cognition. The systematic method helped identify the main ways to legalize criminal proceeds with the help of virtual assets. Using legal techniques, proposals will be formulated to amend draft legislation on legislative regulation of the concept of “virtual assets”. The generalization method was used to develop ways to combat the legalization of criminal proceeds with the help of virtual assets. The method of legal forecasting was used to substantiate the proposed areas of combating money laundering with the help of virtual assets. The method of extrapolation will be used to determine the possibility of implementing foreign experience in domestic practice to combat money laundering with the help of virtual assets. Findings One of the relatively new and increasingly popular ways of money laundering is to commit this act with the help of virtual assets. Methods of money laundering through virtual assets include services for the conversion of virtual assets, P2P exchange, gambling sites, virtual asset mixers and the use of fictitious internet sites selling digital goods. The difficulty of counteracting the legalization of criminal proceeds with the help of virtual assets is primarily due to the lack of legislative regulation of the concept of “virtual assets” in Ukraine. Yes, the draft law is currently being finalized. Besides, even the current edition is not evaluated by the authors as perfect. After all, the issue of the content of the concept of “virtual assets” and its relationship with virtual securities, cryptocurrency and virtual property remains unresolved. Originality/value One of the relatively new and increasingly popular ways of money laundering is to commit this act with the help of virtual assets. Methods of money laundering through virtual assets include services for the conversion of virtual assets, P2P exchange, gambling sites, virtual asset mixers and the use of fictitious internet sites selling digital goods. It is essential to intensify financial monitoring by financial control bodies over the activities of conversion service centers. Moreover, given the transnational nature of legalizing criminal proceeds, especially those committed through virtual assets, international cooperation in combating this crime is vital. The authors have proposed specific measures to ensure that a coherent consolidation of efforts can be built.

Analysis of approaches to assessing changes in welfare and real GDP growth during digitalization of the economy

The paper attempts to estimate, in monetary terms, the volume of free digital services in GDP while assessing the contribution of digitalization to changes in welfare and economic growth. Approaches to such an estimation are analyzed and criticized. In particular, the calculation of the added value created in the digital sector does not properly reflect the economic effect of digitalization. Alternative auxiliary methods for estimating the contribution of digitalization to GDP growth are considered: the creation of satellite accounts of the digital economy within the SNA; the categorization and calculation of “purely” digital goods. The paper analyzes the methodology of calculating GDP which takes into account consumer surpluses from the use of free digital goods. The advantages of this methodology are outlined, including the consideration of a significant part of the digital sector of the economy in the calculation of GDP, as well as the relative ease of its use. This methodology was tested by drawing on the example of the Republic of Bashkortostan.

Digital Goods and Digital Platforms

In this study, I analyze the characteristics of consumer attitudes toward digital and non-digital service provision in the platform business and discuss its regulation. Specifically, I employ consumer questionnaires on subscription services and extract comparable objects to examine the interests that end consumers evince in the provision of these goods and services, thereby enabling better distinction between digital and non-digital goods. A logit analysis of consumer attitudes toward digital and non-digital goods shows that low-price appeals are more effective for digital goods than for non-digital goods, and that they are demanded by younger, male, and higher-income consumers based on an online survey conducted in February 2021. In terms of regulatory and research responses, the issue of market dominance needs to be examined in light of business activities based on the characteristics of goods.

Succession of Digital Goods. A Comparative Legal Study

The purpose of this article is to present possible solutions to the problem of access to digital contents left by a deceased user of Internet services under different European legal systems. Discussion of this issue from a comparative perspective will allow the drawing of general conclusions about the direction de lege lata in which European legislation is heading. In my opinion there should be dedicated legal provisons introduced into the polish civil code which would pertain to digital goods. This would also facilitate the harmonization of inheritance matters in a European perspective. Technological development requires amending the civil code to fit changing reality.

VALUE-ADDED TAX IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY: A FRESH LOOK AT THE SOUTH AFRICAN DISPENSATION

The online purchase of digital goods has the propensity to generate tax liability involving a notable rise in administrative costs for tax authorities. Online transactions involving the supply of digital goods by foreign businesses to South African consumers are subject to Value-Added Tax (“VAT”). Since 2014, the Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991 provides for registration and the reverse-charge mechanism as a means to collect VAT on online cross-border trade in digital goods. From 1 April 2019, significant changes to the VAT Act have been implemented regulating VAT on online cross-border trade in digital goods. This article examines these amendments by way of a comparative analysis of similar legislation in Australia and the European Union with the main aim of making recommendations for the adequate and cost-effective collection of VAT on online cross-border trade in digital goods.

EXPRESS: Preference Reversals Between Digital and Physical Goods

The proliferation of digital goods has led to an increased interest in how the digitization of products and services affects consumer behavior. In this paper, the authors show that although consumers are willing to pay more for physical than digital goods, this difference attenuates—and even reverses—when consumers are asked to make a choice between the two product formats. This effect is explained by a contingent weighting principle: In willingness to pay, a quantitative task, consumers anchor on quantitative information (e.g., market beliefs). On the other hand, in choice, a qualitative task, consumers anchor on qualitative information (e.g., which good dominates on the most important attribute). These differences in contingent weighting result in physical goods being preferred in willingness to pay, but their digital equivalent being preferred relatively more in choice. The authors draw conclusions from ten pre-registered experiments and six supplemental studies using a variety of goods in hypothetical and incentive-compatible contexts, as well as within- and between-subjects designs. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for the marketing of digital goods.