Money laundering in HongKong - Essay Example

Arrangement is the store of funds in financial organizations or the transformation of money into a negotiable tool. Layering includes the wire exchange of funds through a progression of accounts through the monetary framework in attempt to conceal the genuine sources of the fund. Integration is the step to mix legitimate acquired criminal proceeds into a legitimate world. Legally, money laundering refers only to the proceeds of specific crimes, the list of which varies across countries but which has gradually been extended in most parts of the world to all crimes capable of being sentenced to a year or more imprisonment (Levi 533) Since the end of the cold world war, much attention and resource of western countries have shifted to protect domestic security by attacking drug connected and organized crimes.

Targeting criminal finance was regarded as an innovative initiative and strategy to achieve better anti-crime effects. Uncovering, tracing, freezing and confiscating criminal proceeds have been focused, which require the criminal justice system to criminalize and combat criminals managing their finance process, which is known as money laundering. The first time that the emergence of money laundering addressed was in the U.S in the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, which demanded that insured depository institutions maintain records and report transactions.

The aim was to prevent banks from being used to hide money derived from criminal activity and tax evasion. A few days after the events of 2001 September 11, a war against terrorist has been in effect on different fronts including a direct ambush on money laundering. In his speech of 13 days after the attack, President Bush indicated his determination to prosecute money launderers, especially those connected to terrorist funds and those who do not report their suspicions of laundering to the police.

A clear message was sent to banks and different monetary establishments that