The anti-money laundering system in the context of globalisation: a panopticon built on quicksand?

In the past two decades money laundering has been presented by policy makers as a grave global threat to the world economy, undermining its foundations while allowing trillions of dollars in dirty money to slip into the upperworld economy. In order to fend off this threat, the authorities put into place a global mechanism of surveillance and control, imposing heavy multi-million dollar burdens on the financial industry, ultimately to be paid by customers. Despite these efforts and strengthened state control, the threat still appears to be the same as it was 20 years ago. Moreover, the real menace now appears instead to be the result of the behaviour of respectable, but recklessly operating, bankers. What is going on? This work critically investigates the origins and foundations of the global anti-money laundering policy. It describes its obscure inception and exposes the incoherent arguments being accepted as “conventional wisdom” that policy makers use to introduce new and stricter regulations. Providing a step-by-step analysis of the current fear-driven policy, the author makes clear that this important subject needs to be addressed within a reasoned and realistic framework. This book makes the reader aware of the serious consequences of a policy that appears to have lost its sense of proportionality and to be based on poorly substantiated fear.