MONEY LAUNDERING AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

MONTREAL

Conferencia; ASAC CONFERENCE; 2021

CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY

This paper focuses on the movement of illicit financial flows, specifically cash, into the legal financial system in ways that seek to conceal the origins of the cash rendering the cash untraceable. This paper contributes to our understanding of money laundering in two ways. First, the analysis shows how networks are constructed and how accounting strategies are used to facilitate the money laundering process. And second, the paper highlights internal control deficiencies in banks that propagate these negative practices.Through the analysis of several court cases, it is shown how, within the accounting rules, networks are set up to structure the movement of illicit financial flows into financial institutions in ways that go undetected for prolonged periods of time.Since fraud and corrupt practices are field specific, it is difficult to generalize and we encourage more studies to help understand the processes of money laundering. Hopefully, the more we understand, the greater the chances we can curtail some of these negative practices that erode the fabric society.