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This chapter attempts to clarify and describe the legal and regulatory framework for cryptocurrency with special focus on Malaysia and the threats that it poses from the anti-money laundering perspective. Currently, very few countries have legislations that regulate cryptocurrency. Nonetheless, the crazy surge in prices (to more than 20-folds at some point) has sent both legitimate investors and criminals flocking to cryptocurrencies. This chapter analyses and compares the official reports from various governments, writings of government officials, experts and scholars in journals and newspapers, interviews and draws conclusions on the legal framework of cryptocurrency, and money laundering challenges. The study notes that the decision of the US regulators in allowing Bitcoin futures to trade on major exchanges to be one of the reasons behind the sudden surge. The study also finds that the South Korean regulators’ approach in banning its financial institutions from dealing with virtual currency is a positive one. The chapter stresses that it is not adequate for regulators to warn the public to act with extreme caution and increase their understanding on the risks they take on if they choose to invest in cryptocurrencies. Instead, it is necessary to have comprehensive international and national laws and regulations for the control and management of cryptocurrencies. In addition, the anti-money laundering legal framework must be improved to cater to the new threats posed by cryptocurrency.

Purpose: This chapter aims to evaluate the impact of money laundering and terrorism financing on the Indian economy and to study the effectiveness of prevention of money laundering acts and terrorist financing as per the guidance of the financial protection task force.

Need for the study: Developing countries like India have been more vulnerable to terrorism and financial scams over the last four decades. Despite the establishment of regulating bodies and anti-money laundering acts, this problem continued to be a national threat. Therefore, examining the impact of money laundering and terrorism finance on the Indian economy is necessary.

Methodology: This study is based on secondary data gathered from the web portals of government agencies and international organisations dealing with money laundering and terror funding. Newspapers, journals, and annual reports are reviewed to identify the modus operandi of money laundering operators and their impact on the economy.

Findings: Money laundering and terrorism financing significantly threaten the Indian economy and national security. Despite different anti-money laundering laws and multiple regulating authorities, the system has pitfalls that allow economic fraud and money transactions for terrorist activities. There is a need for cyber security, and integrated enforcement agencies to combat money laundering at national and international levels.

Practical implications: This study would be helpful for academicians and policymakers to understand the nexus of money laundering and terrorism financing and its impacts on the Indian economy.

Corruption can take many forms. One of the most alarming aspects of corruption has been the impact of money laundering on financial markets. The amount of money laundered in the Asian region is estimated at approximately $200 billion, or one-fifth the global total. Some of the Asia-Pacific countries still lack any consistent anti-money laundering legislation. The Asia-Pacific region is also home to five of the six remaining non-cooperative countries and territories on The Financial Action Task Force's 2004 list. In this paper, I present a clinical examination of the impact of money laundering and Off-shore financial centres on Asian Pacific financial markets. I describe the money laundering cycle, tools and techniques utilized in the Asia-Pacific region as well as anti-money laundering measures and regulation.

Dynamism of digital economy requires innovation in the mobile payment system to provide for the free flow of information to facilitate electronic transactions. However, regulations and standards were introduced at the global and country levels to impose limitations on mobile payment system to protect consumers’ interests. The Malaysian government introduced the Anti-money Laundering, Anti-terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (Act 613) (AMLA) to protect the people from being involved in offences both locally and internationally and an unlawful activity carried out physically or by using virtual mechanisms. It is argued in this study that AMLA has hindered the innovation of the digital economic system that is promoted by the government in line with global developments. The research method adopted is personal interview with selected respondents to gather their views on the challenges posed by the restrictions imposed by AMLA that has had the impact of limiting innovations in the mobile payment system sector.

Purpose: The study’s objective is to look at the link between money laundering and economic and financial performance, emphasising the effectiveness of the literature and possible later research directions using science mapping, which allows for scientific knowledge analysis.

Need for the Study: This study is related to a better understanding of the field’s historical evolution in terms of publications.

Methodology: This study used bibliometric approaches to analyse a sample of 660 studies from the Web of Science between 1994 and 2022, concentrating on keywords, author, paper, journal, and subject analysis. This study focused on performance analysis and scientific mapping of articles using the R package.

Findings: The empirical results indicated that the research field’s primary issues include corporate governance, fraud, machine learning, fraud detection, financial fraud, financial statement, corruption, earnings management, ethics, governance, financial reporting, bankruptcy, internal control, or performance. M. S. Beasly, D. B. Farber, E. M. Fich, R. Romano, and A. Shivdasani are the most well-known authors on the issue of money laundering and financial and economic performance. At the same time, the most typical journals are the Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Money Laundering Control, Accounting Review, Journal of Financial Economics, and Journal of Corporate Finance.

Practical Implications: This study will act as a guide for researchers of various fields to evaluate the development of scientific publications in a particular theme over time, especially for those who are in the field of money laundering and financial performance.

The emerging market economies, in particular, have become victim to the laundering activities which have damaged investment potentials, undermined governance, fostered crime and corruption, and decreased tax revenues. In this chapter, we construct a macrotheoretic framework to analyze money laundering in the form of tax evasion by individuals in an economy in the events of financial autarky and free trade. In other words, our theoretical model allows us to examine if movement from autarky to a state of financial integration whets the degree of financial malpractice like money laundering.

Purpose: This chapter aims to perform text analysis to investigate the academic area delimitated by economic and financial performance and money laundering.

Need for the study: The findings contribute to the body of literature by providing important insights in terms of money laundering and financial performance.

Methodology: In order to achieve the research objective, further than 640 papers were retrieved from the Web of Science from 1994 to 2022, concentrating on the most referenced documents found in the superior quartile.

Findings: The empirical findings emphasise that the article with the unique words Fraud Detection System: A Survey by Abdallah A., Maarof M. A., and Zainal A., examines a complete and systematic assessment of the concerns and obstacles that impede the performance of fraud detection systems. Furthermore, topic modelling findings highlighted the presence of four main topics: topic 1 – identified by ‘performance’, ‘firms’, ‘financial’, ‘fraud’, and ‘board’; topic 2 – described in terms of ‘fraud’, ‘accounting’, ‘evidence’, ‘audit’, and ‘research’; topic 3 – identified by ‘firms’, ‘fraud’, ‘financial’, ‘CEO’, and ‘results’ while topic 4 – identified through ‘fraud’, ‘detection’, ‘data’, ‘cost’, and ‘card’.

Practical implications: This study will act as a guide for researchers of the financial performance field to explore the scientific publications in the field of money laudering.

New Zealand has long been regarded as a country with little or no governmental corruption. In recent times it has been ranked consistently as one of the five least corrupt countries in the world, on Transparency International’s (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). In 2009 and 2011 it was ranked as the single most corruption-free country on the CPI, and in 2012 it shared first place with Denmark and Finland. This chapter examines the reasons why historically New Zealand has been largely free of governmental corruption, using widely accepted definitions of what constitutes corrupt behavior. It goes on to argue that, at least by its own normal standards, the country might now be more susceptible to corruption, for a variety of reasons, in both the public and private sectors, and that more political and administrative attention may need to be paid to this issue. This chapter discusses New Zealand’s surprising tardiness in ratifying the United Nations Convention against Corruption, an apparent reluctance that leaves the country sitting alongside other non-ratifying countries which have endemic levels of corruption in all its forms. In this context, this chapter also notes some international dissatisfaction with New Zealand’s anti-money laundering legislation, enacted in 2009.