Response to money laundering scandal: evidence-informed or perception-driven?

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to utilise underused information in anti-money laundering rating data to assist policymaking and research.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper explores what evidence “hidden in plain sight” in official anti-money laundering rating data reveals about claims justifying the expansion of money laundering controls in response to European bank scandals.

Findings

A perceived lack of international coordination influencing the policy response to a series of alleged anti-money laundering breaches does not accord with the anti-money laundering industry’s own evidence base.

Practical implications

Responding to new crises with superficial solutions without addressing fundamental questions with a multi-disciplinary perspective risks repeating and extending a decade-long cycle of ineffectiveness in efforts to mitigate the social and economic harms from profit-motivated crime.

Originality/value

This paper draws fresh conclusions from the anti-money laundering industry’s “main” data set, underused in policymaking and research.

Citation

Pol, R.F. (2020), "Response to money laundering scandal: evidence-informed or perception-driven?", Journal of Money Laundering Control, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 103-121. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-01-2019-0007