As the global economy undergoes rapid digital transformation, cryptocurrencies have emerged as a prominent alternative class of financial assets. Their decentralized nature, pseudonymity, and lack of centralized oversight have attracted considerable interest among investors while simultaneously...

In this paper, we investigate the impact of religion on the money laundering risk, focusing specifically on Protestantism compared to other religions. Protestantism is often associated with greater individual self-discipline and stronger institutional economic governance. Analysing data from 27...

The last five years have seen immense growth in the Nigerian financial services sphere, particularly with the introduction of innovative ways to make, trade and exchange money in a largely unregulated sphere. One of such developments is virtual assets which has opened up a lot of doors in the...

Approximately sixty percent of German goods exports are transported via sea freight. The international shipping industry is dominated by firms registered in offshore centers with little transparency. Criminals feel invited to abuse these opaque constructions for laundering their illegally...

The widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies has transformed the financial landscape by enabling swift, decentralised transactions. However, the pseudonymous nature of digital currencies has also fuelled illicit activities, such as money laundering. Criminals perform money laundering to access...

The banking sector of three Baltic countries, i.e., Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, was abused by money laundering scandals between 2018 and 2020. The Danske Bank scandal was the largest one and, combined with the other scandals, inevitably triggered a heavy critique of national anti-money...

Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. The Evolution of the Global AML System -- Chapter 3. Crypto-assets: Technology, Adoption, and Criminal Exploitation -- Chapter 4. Regulating Crypto-assets: AML Systems and Enforcement -- Chapter 5. Socio-Technical Systems Theory in AML Context -- Chapter 6....

Digital credit has gained much attention from academic researchers, practitioners, and policymakers worldwide. This study empirically evaluates the determinants of digital credit using cross-country data from 2013 to 2019. The conventional ordinary least square regression with fixed effects...

The United Kingdom's (UK) property markets are thought to be a common destination for corrupt and criminal assets and money laundering, with investment often through offshore shell companies. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, we study the impact of the introduction of a policy...

Approximately sixty percent of German goods exports are transported via sea freight. The international shipping industry is dominated by firms registered in offshore centers with little transparency. Criminals feel invited to abuse these opaque constructions for laundering their illegally...

In this paper, we investigate the impact of religion on the money laundering risk, focusing specifically on Protestantism compared to other religions. Protestantism is often associated with greater individual self-discipline and stronger institutional economic governance. Analysing data from 27...

Money laundering is one of the most relevant global challenges, with significant repercussions on the economy and international security. Identifying suspicious transactions is a key element in the fight against the phenomenon, but the task is extremely complex due to the constant evolution of...

This study examines how financial sector development mediates the relationship between digital payments and money laundering. The current study relies on a sample of 120 countries, including both developed and developing economies, for the years 2014, 2017, and 2021. The findings reveal that...

The significance of digitalization due to technological advancements in the modern age is becoming increasingly apparent. However, as a result of the rapid global change, serious concerns arise regarding various aspects of proper digitalization, particularly how to leverage it while avoiding its...

The issue of how the money laundering (ML) risk of countries is measured is not a merely technical problem. It has a strong impact on countries' development, in particular of the Global South. First, because official anti-money laundering (AML) blacklists and grey lists, which frequently include...

Based on a transnational case study of an informal value transfer system that UK law enforcement authorities were able to detect, this doctrinal and qualitative study explores the regulation, supervision and enforcement of unlicensed/unregistered hawala operators and similar service providers...

The 2024 report builds on the significant achievements and lessons learned in previous years, reflecting the EIB Group's unwavering dedication to combating fraud and corruption. The report gives an overview of the Investigations Division's work to prevent, detect, investigate and remedy...

Are sanctions bypassed by hiding money offshore? Using bilateral data on bank deposits, we compare how offshore deposits from sanctioned versus non-sanctioned countries develop after the U.S. and the EU impose financial sanctions. Sanctions targeting individuals increase offshore deposits, as...

This article delves into the transition from traditional tax havens to a new generation of digital jurisdictions powered by blockchain technology. It examines how blockchain wallets and decentralized exchanges are redefining financial sovereignty by offering anonymity, asset protection, and...

This study investigates the impact of corporate governance mechanism on money laundering operations in publicly listed firms in Nigeria, emphasising the efficacy of governance measures and the mediating function of internal audits. The study employed purposive sampling to analyse 177 firms...

Criminal finances, together with money laundering and asset recovery, are central to many forms of organised crime. In recognition of this, the priorities of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT)1 on fraud, and economic and financial crimes put emphasis on the...

The objective of anti-money laundering (AML) programs is to disrupt the financial infrastructure of criminal organizations, thereby seizing illicit assets and curbing the expansion of these criminal activities. This paper assesses the effectiveness of AML programs in curbing three distinct forms...

Environmental crime, ranked as the fourth-largest criminal enterprise after drug trafficking, counterfeiting, and human trafficking, encompasses illegal activities such as mineral extraction, land clearance, and waste trafficking. These crimes are closely linked to financial crimes due to their...

This paper analyses the legal frameworks in Kenya and Uganda, and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidelines to ascertain if they are effective in minimising money laundering activities and keeping the countries off of FATF's grey list. The study implements the Two-Pillar methodology that...

The low conviction rate for money laundering, particularly in corruption cases, stems from the technical language of the ML law and the challenges of proving mens rea for ML perpetrators. This paper examines Indonesian corruption cases from 2017 to 2021 and finds that the conviction rate for ML...

The rapid evolution of global trade offers great productivity gains to participating countries but also raises the likelihood of losing domestic resources through trade-based money laundering. This paper empirically examined whether trade-based money laundering affects domestic resource...

Shell companies can be a legitimate entity but can also been used for illicit activities such as money laundering. Users of shell companies have included illegal arms dealers, drug cartels, terrorists and cyber-criminals, as well as legitimate businesses. To assist in distinguishing between...