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This study aims to investigate the impact of terrorism on financial inclusion that is achieved through automated teller machine penetration and bank branch expansion.

Eight countries that are the most terrorized countries in the world were analysed using the panel fixed effect regression model and the generalized linear model.

The results provide evidence that terrorism reduces the level of financial inclusion in countries experiencing terrorism, but the presence of strong legal institutions, accountability governance institutions and political stability governance institutions mitigate the adverse effect of terrorism on financial inclusion.

A growing literature has shown that terrorism affects the economy, yet little is known about its impact on financial inclusion.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the problem of land degradation as a category of environmental terrorism, which has been increasing along with the rise of open pit mining and oil palm plantation activities.

This study uses a doctrinal approach that aims to find the best solution to address the problem of land degradation and environmental terrorism activities in Indonesia through a comparative legal study conducted with the handling of similar cases in Malaysia, which has almost the same character as Indonesia.

This paper finds that both Indonesia and Malaysia have enacted laws and regulations to address environmental concerns. However, it turns out that relying only on law enforcement is not an optimal solution. Addressing the problem of land degradation would also require the implementation of sustainable development practices, public awareness and cooperative dialogue.

This paper provides a new approach to answer the inclusion of environmental degradation as environmental terrorism, which should also be considered a crime against humanity.

Concerns on money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing increased, as ML accounted 2%–5% of the global GDP, with Switzerland, the USA, Canada, India and Russia having high laundering rates. Banks were fined over US$320bn in 2008, but money laundering still accounted for 3.6% of global GDP in 2009, thereby indicating the need for effective regimes. Therefore, this study aims to critically analyze the antimoney laundering (AML)/CFT regime of Somalia, identify loopholes in the regime, raise awareness and propose recommendations for regime improvement.

The qualitative research approach is used to compare Somalia’s AML/CFT regime with the corresponding regime of Malaysia through the black letter method combined with document analysis. Malaysia is selected as a benchmark for two reasons: firstly, it is an Islamic country like Somalia, and secondly, Malaysia has complied with integrity-related standards.

This study revealed that an impactful AML/CTF regime is reached by closing loopholes in the law, reevaluating and improving regulatory agencies and measures, facilitating formal financial services and collaborating with regional and international standard setters. According to the results, Somalia AML/CFT regime is counterproductive in criminalizing offenses; regulating digital currencies and mobile money, disclosures and nonfinancial business and provisions; and governing training requirements for regulatory agencies and financial institutions.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first of its kind in the study of Somalia’s regime building. Also, this study incorporates rich scholarly discourse on effective regime building.

Due to their particular nature, virtual assets (VA) are vulnerable to financial crimes such as money laundering and if the appropriate legal mechanisms are not established, this may result in the financial collapse of various economies. To this effect, best practices and standards have been published by some international organisations such as the Financial Action Task Force and IMF which are now domesticated in the national laws of several countries. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyse the anti-money laundering (AML) legislative framework in the context of VA in three countries, namely, Mauritius, Japan and South Africa.

To achieve the research objective, the Mauritian AML laws in the context of VA were compared with the corresponding laws of some other countries, namely, Japan and South Africa. As such, a qualitative research method was adopted. In particular, the black letter approach was used to examine the relevant laws of these countries. A comparative analysis was conducted concerning the relevance of AML laws for each country when dealing with VA with the view of suggesting recommendations for Mauritian stakeholders to adopt to enhance the existing AML legal and regulatory framework.

The comparative study conducted has revealed that there are both similarities and divergences among the AML framework of the three countries further to which this research recommends that the Mauritian laws must be amended concerning the duration of information storage on VA, the definition of VA, advertisement by VA service providers and the electronic submission of annual reports. The Mauritian regulatory bodies also need to play a more active role in their joint collaboration to monitor suspicious VA transactions to combat money laundering.

At present, this study will be among the first academic writings on the efficiency of AML laws in the context of VA in Mauritius and also, because existing literature is quite scarce on assessing the adequacy of AML legislation in developing countries, this research aims at filling in the gap in literature. This study is carried out with the aim of combining a large amount of empirical, theoretical and factual information that can be of use to various stakeholders and not only to academics.

The study investigates the inter-linkages between geopolitical risk (GPR) and food price (FP).

By employing the bootstrap full- and sub-sample rolling-window Granger causality tests.

The empirical results show that there is a time-varying bidirectional causality between GPR and FP. High GPR leads to a rise in FP, suggesting that geopolitical events usually may disrupt supply and demand conditions in food markets, and even trigger global food crises. However, the negative effect of GPR on FP does not support this view in certain periods. This is mainly because GPR is also related to the global economic situation and oil price, which together have impacts on the food market. These results cannot always be supported by the inter-temporal capital asset pricing model, which states that GPR affects FP in a positive manner. Conversely, there is a positive impact of FP on GPR, indicating that the food market is an effective tool that can reflect global geopolitical environment.

In the context of the Russia–Ukraine conflict, these analyses can assist investors and policymakers to understand the sensitivity of FP to GPR. Also, it will provide significant revelations for governments to attach importance to the role of food price information in predicting geopolitical events, thus contributing to a more stable international environment.

The main purpose of this paper is to discuss the suitability of moral and ordre public clauses, and to advance the view that ethical reflection within patent systems is valuable.

This is a conceptual paper that draws upon the present situation in Europe to illuminate a discussion of the different views about the morality patents, with particular emphasis on criticism of authors who have espoused a narrow interpretation of moral clauses, such as that adopted by the European Patent Office.

This research found that the claim that patent systems are not appropriate places in which to evaluate moral matters and, therefore, they cannot inform us about morality is false. This is because inventors do not need to wait for authorizing legislation prior to making use of their technology. Hence, moral implications can be evaluated.

These ideas also lead to important theoretical consequences, especially regarding the debate on value-laden science and technology. However, further efforts are needed to address other patent regimes, such as the non-European.

It is shown how the bioethicist community can be incorporated into patent offices. The responsibilities of examiners and businesses in the process are also discussed.

There have been a limited number of studies that examine the value of ethical considerations within the patent system. This paper provides a thought-provoking discussion of moral clauses in Europe. The author also suggests new ways of incorporating ethical scrutiny into patent systems.

This study empirically examines the moderating role of geopolitical risk on the tourism–economic growth nexus by applying a recent geopolitical risk indicator developed by Caldara and Iacoviello (2022) in a cross-country panel data growth model context for a sample of 24 countries.

A Dummy Variable Least Squares panel data model, nonparametric covariance matrix estimator and SYS-GMM estimation techniques are employed for the analysis. The authors capture the GPR moderating effect by disaggregating the cross-country sample according to low versus high country GPR score and through a GPR interaction coefficient. Several controls are included in the models such as gross fixed capital formation and—consistent with Barro (1990)—government consumption. Trade openness is used to account for the export-led growth effect. In line with neoclassical growth theory (e.g. Barro, 1991), the authors also include the real interest rate, to account for policy makers' commitment to macroeconomic stability, financial depth, as a proxy for financial development, population growth and the level of secondary school education. The authors also control for unobserved country-specific and time-invariant effects.

The research finds that the interaction term of geopolitical risk significantly contributes to the predictive ability of the regression and provides empirical evidence that confirms that only in low geopolitical risk countries international tourism positively and significantly contributes to economic growth. Important theoretical and policy implications flow from these findings.

The study not only contributes to advancing academic knowledge on the tourism–growth nexus, it also has impact beyond academia. Many countries have in the past pursued and many continue to pursue, tourism specialization and/or tourism-led growth strategies based on the theoretically well-established and empirically validated positive link between inbound tourism and economic growth. The findings alert policy makers in such countries to the significant moderating role that geopolitical risk plays in affecting the above-mentioned relationship and to the importance of prioritizing geopolitical stability as a policy precursor for the successful implementation of such strategies.

No country is free from financial crime issues. Therefore, this paper aims to discover how to control financial crime from the perspective of national culture.

This study conducted a bibliometric approach and systematic literature review analysis of 47 publications in the Scopus database.

Bibliometric and content analyses show that national culture is more often associated with tax evasion, money laundering and corruption. The role of national culture is less investigated currently in the schemes of financial statement crime, workplace fraud and cybercrime. Overall, the study concludes financial crime can be prevented by developing a culture that supports anti-fraud measures. These include individualized country profiles, feminism, low power distance, tolerance for uncertainty, short-term orientation and restraint.

This research provides clear knowledge of the role of the six dimensions of national culture in fighting financial crime. Finally, this study is also valuable for decision-making in designing more effective financial crime prevention programs.

This paper aims to investigate technological innovations within the crypto space that have engendered novel financial crime risks and their potential utilization amidst geopolitical conflicts.

The theoretical paper uses an analysis of recent geopolitical events, with a key focus on using cryptocurrencies to undertake illicit activities.

The study found that cryptocurrencies and the innovations made within the crypto domain are used for both legitimate and illicit purposes, including money laundering, terrorism financing and sanction evasion.

This research contributes to understanding the critical role cryptocurrencies play amidst geopolitical conflicts and emphasizes the need for regulatory considerations to prevent their misuse. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first scholarly contribution that considers the evolving mechanisms afforded by cryptocurrencies amidst geopolitical conflicts in undertaking illicit activities.

Regarding the magnitude of the impact caused by money laundering, the size of the organization and the many parties involved, this paper aims to explore the methods used in detecting money laundering, especially the use of technology.

This research is a literature review from various research sources originating from Pro-Quest, Emerald, Science Direct and Google Scholar.

The researchers found that the most widely used methods for detecting money laundering were artificial intelligence, machine learning, data mining and social network analysis.

This research is expected to help the government or institutions such as the police, forensic accountants and investigative auditors in the fight against money laundering. This research is limited to only a few sources, and it is hoped that further research can explore more deeply related to other methods for detecting money laundering.

This paper discusses the methods that are widely used in detecting money laundering.