Relevant issues of conducting verification of reports on illegal banking operations

This article is dedicated to the issues of conducting audit pursuant to the Article 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation on report of crimes established by the Article 172 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Methodological framework for this research consists of dialectical, logical, and formal-legal methods; the normative framework is comprised of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, criminal and criminal procedure legislation of the Russian Federation, local normative acts that regulate the conduct of audit initiating at the stage of initiating a criminal case. Major attention is turned to the theoretical and applied issues associated with the initiation of criminal cases stipulated by the Article 172 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Analysis is conducted on the peculiarities of seizure of objects and documents on this category of crime; as well as on the goals, tasks, methods of seizure, and admissible procedural actions. The author examines the questions of admissibility of evidence received at the state of opening a criminal case, their role in subsequent stages of criminal proceedings. Assessment is given to the existing theoretical and practical views on the possibility of instituting a search and seizure prior to opening a criminal case. The author analyzes case law on the topic, and concludes on the need for further amendments. The importance of observing the rights and legitimate interests of individuals and companies in the course of pre-trial proceedings pertinent to the reports of illegal banking operations is substantiated. The author also indicates that arbitrary interference of law enforcement agencies in legitimate business activity is unacceptable.  

Summary of Recommendations for Adoption

This chapter summarizes key recommendations that are proffered throughout this book. Recommendations that are proposed encompass the areas of the disclosure framework, issuer exemptions from Securities Act registration, exemptions for resales of securities, the Securities Act registration framework, due diligence in registered offerings, the federalization of corporate governance, private securities litigation, insider trading, mergers and acquisitions, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. In total, well over 100 recommendations are set forth in this chapter. Hence, this book has identified problematic areas, analyzed their shortcomings, and recommended solutions that should ameliorate the deficiencies that exist. With the adoption and implementation of the recommendations made herein, the U.S. securities framework should become more transparent, even-handed, and investor-oriented without imposing undue burdens on legitimate business practices.

Resistance Is Not Futile: Co-operatives, Demutualization, Agriculture, and Neoliberalism in Australia

Recognition of co-operatives as a legitimate business model and form of economic participation was significantly challenged by the rise of neo-liberalism in the 1980s with its emphasis on individuals and markets. This fueled an externally and internally driven push to demutualize co-operatives and convert them into Investor Owned Businesses (IOB). While the international trend to demutualize emerged from the end of the Second World War, evidence indicates it accelerated from the late 1980s until the onset of the Global Financial Crisis. Drawing on an ongoing project of historical data collection and visual analysis of Australian co-operatives, this paper explores the Australian experience with demutualization, particularly with regard to agriculture. In line with the international experience, there has been a surge in Australian demutualization since the 1980s. However, while demutualization continues to be a feature of the Australian landscape post-GFC as co-operatives tackle with the changed political and economic environment, the paper also challenges the view that demutualization is inevitable for agricultural co-operatives. Co-operative managers can make strategic choices to avoid demutualization and retain member control. Further, co-operative culture and the persistence of co-operative clusters in particular regions can blunt the push to demutualize.

RRI and Corporate Stakeholder Engagement: The Aquadvantage Salmon Case

Declining public trust in science and innovation triggered the emergence and development of the responsible research and innovation (RRI) concept among policymakers and academics. Engaging stakeholders in the early phases of innovation processes has been identified as a major driver of inclusive, responsible, and sustainable development. Firms however have often adopted practices entirely opposite to those being advocated within the RRI framework, namely, reducing external interaction with stakeholders, focusing on exclusive communication with the scientific community and legal authorities while avoiding the social spotlight. We illustrate these practices, their causes and consequences using the case of the Aquadvantage salmon, the first genetically modified (GM) animal approved to petition for the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for human consumption. We find that such practices heighten the risk of social backlash, being undesirable from the perspective of both the organizations involved and society at large. Stakeholder engagement remains necessary in order to gain the minimum social acceptance required for contentious innovative products to enter the market. However, stakeholder engagement must be selective, focused on pragmatic organizations whose aims and interests are sufficiently broad to potentially align with corporate interests. Strategic stakeholder engagement offers a meeting point between the transformative aspirations of RRI framework proponents and legitimate business interests.

Liu v. S.E.C.: Supreme Court’s narrowing of SEC disgorgement raises questions for insider trading cases

Purpose To analyze the U.S, Supreme Court’s decision in Liu v. S.E.C., 140 S. Ct. 1936 (2020) and its potential implications for insider trading cases. Design/Methodology/Approach Provides context on the history of disgorgement in SEC enforcement proceedings; discusses factual and procedural background underlying the Liu decision; summarizes the Court’s opinion and rationale, with a particular focus on the Court’s pronouncements regarding the permissible scope of SEC disgorgement as an equitable remedy; identifies and explores three possible issues in insider trading cases that may be affected by the Court’s narrowing of SEC disgorgement. Findings In Liu, the Supreme Court narrowed SEC disgorgement by stating that, as a general matter, SEC disgorgement is not permitted where: (1) the proceeds are not remitted to investors; (2) one defendant is made to disgorge profits that were received by someone else; or (3) the amount of disgorgement fails to deduct legitimate business expenses, in each case subject to possible exemptions as outlined by the Court. Practical implications This rule may call into question whether courts may: (a) order disgorgement against insider traders, given the difficulty of identifying investors who have been harmed; (b) order insider traders to disgorge profits earned by others on account of their violations; or (c) order insider traders to pay civil penalties under Section 21 A of the Exchange Act based on profits earned by others. Originality/Value Expert analysis and guidance from experienced securities enforcement lawyers with expertise in insider trading.

Criminological Features and Determination Specifics of Modern Tax Crimes

The author analyzes statistical information on tax crimes, the causes of the fluctuation of their quantitative parameters, and the impact of the economic downturn on tax crimes. Data characterizing the personality of tax offenders are presented. Determinants of tax crimes are examined. The author studies data that reflect the impact of the economic downturn of 2015-2016 and the subsequent stabilization of the economy on the observance of tax obligations. The key determinants of tax crimes that constitute its causal complex are recognized to be self-interest, a desire to get excess profit, and a reluctance to conduct business using common rules. Modern tax crimes have features typical of «white collar» crimes: openness of committing crimes that are made to look like legitimate business activities; use of the intellectual potential of highly qualified specialists for the development and improvement of criminal tax strategies, protection of criminal actions against exposure and prosecution; considerable material damage from crimes; long-term character of criminal activities; focus on using the advantages connected with tax evasion in competition. The author analyzes the norm of legal liability for breach of the law on taxes and duties. It is noted that the gains of tax evasion are higher than the material losses that could be incurred if the fact is exposed. The bigger the amount of uncollected taxes, the less significant the criminal law punitive sanctions are in comparison with it. There is not risk of becoming a subject of criminal prosecution for ignoring the duty to obtain documentation for business activities, for hiding or destroying accounting documentation. The author shows that the insufficiency of criminal law measures of restraining legal deviations regarding tax obligations and the defects of normative legal regulation of legal liability for tax delicts become the determinants of tax crimes because they promote the idea of impunity. Besides, the drawbacks of legal liability for violating the legislation on taxes and duties create conditions for the self-determination of tax crimes and for the formation of shadow economy in the Russian Federation.

Next Steps

Chapter 13 investigates cryptocurrency and quantum computing. Bitcoin – the world’s first cryptocurrency - was released by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009. Unlike conventional money, Bitcoin transactions are anonymous - maintained by a worldwide collection of computers operated by volunteers. Bitcoin took off on the black market but then migrated to legitimate business. The current value of all bitcoins is a staggering $41 billion. Strangely, no one knows who Nakamoto is – he, she, or they have yet to reveal themselves. Quantum computing was first proposed by physicist Richard Feynman in 1981. His idea was that the weird behaviour of sub-atomic particles could be exploited to perform computations. In theory, quantum computing allows huge numbers of calculations to be performed simultaneously. Google, IBM and others are now in race to build a practical quantum computer. Such a machine might well crack the encryption algorithms that currently underpin both the Internet and Bitcoin.

Analisis terhadap Pencegahan Tindak Pidana Pencucian Uang oleh Bank Negara Indonesia

Money laundering can undermine the national economy as it is very closely linked to the belief that one or another country against the policy of the State. Usually money laundering illicit money was made by mixing with legitimate money so that a legitimate business will not compete with companies who are honest, undermining the integrity of the financial markets due to the financial institutions (financial institutions) even rely on the proceeds of crime can face the danger of liquidity; resulting in a loss of government control of the economy of a country whose policies result in lack of confidence in other countries against its policies. In carrying out its supervisory duties USU Bank BNI has implemented Law No. 8 of 20110 on AML with Bank Indonesia Regulation No. 11/28 / PBI / by applying the principle to know the Customer and step in stages in accordance with Circular No. 11/31 / DPNP Year 2009 Standard Guidelines for the Implementation of Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism for Banks

Consumer Fraud

Consumer fraud is a broad category of unethical and illegal marketplace behaviors engaged in by unscrupulous sellers to the detriment of their customers. Consumers might buy a weight-loss product that is advertised as “guaranteed to lead to significant weight loss in just two weeks,” for instance, but then never lose any weight because the product is a fake. Online consumers may provide payment information yet never receive the product they paid for, or people may donate money to a charity that does not actually exist. Although consumer fraud can take on countless forms—from price misrepresentation, unnecessary repairs, and fraudulent business ventures to false stockbroker information, unauthorized use of credit-card information, and credit-repair scams—at its core, consumer fraud involves a violation of trust. Given this violation of trust, the legitimate business setting in which these crimes often occur, the financial goal of these crimes, and the lack of overt violence, consumer fraud can in turn be classified as one form of white-collar crime. This point is important because it means that one can gain the fullest understanding of consumer fraud by supplementing the relatively limited research on consumer fraud with the broader, more developed literature on white-collar crime. Accordingly, this article presents the classic and contemporary literature on consumer fraud and white-collar crime. That said, excluded from this article are white-collar crime studies that address specific forms of white-collar crime other than consumer fraud. A study specifically on embezzlement or worker-safety violations, for example, would not be included here.