Law - Finance and Investment Law - Essay Example

In the United Kingdom, there was a survey which was conducted by the insurance industry. The results showed that the UK annually loses £85 billion every year, and more than half of this amount is related to drugs. However, there are a number of laws in the UK which can prevent the occurrence of money-laundering. One of the important obligations that a British citizen has, is to report a case of money laundering if he or she is aware of that. If the person doesn’t make a report however, he or she may have to spend fourteen years in prison.

The Authority of the House of Lords (2009, p.8) states ‘Money laundering involves the following stages, which may overlap: Placement stage: where cash derived directly from criminal activity (for example, from sales of drugs) is either placed in a financial institution or used to purchase an asset; Layering stage: the stage at which there is the first attempt at concealment or disguise of the source of the ownership of the funds; Integration stage: the stage at which the money is integrated into the legitimate economic and financial system and is assimilated with all other assets in the system.

’ In essence, money-laundering is the process through which illegal money obtained from means such as drug trafficking, prostitution and extortion is forced through a cycle which eventually makes that same money appear as if it was obtained through legal means. It’s extremely difficult of putting a perfect value of money-laundering. The International Monetary Fund of the IMF estimates that the money-laundering industry worldwide is worth about one trillion U.S. dollars per year. This amount is 3% of the world’s aggregate gross domestic product.

The Authority of the House of Lords (2009, p. 27) states ‘The major exception in international practice to the default position, mandated by the UN