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The purpose of this paper is to explore the linkages between formal/informal and licit/illicit flows of goods in the post‐socialist economy in order to better understand and provide an analysis of both sides of these economic practices.

Research over 20 months in Slovakia, between 2000 and 2007, included surveys of retailers of goods, households and firms who buy and sell contraband, and ethnographic research with truckers, consumers, and sellers of contraband. This study also included a novel research method – a microeconomic commodity supply chain analysis, providing a new means to understand the circulation of illicit goods.

This paper has important findings for the movement of illicit goods in Slovakia and more broadly. Tracing the movement of two goods: cigarettes and clothing, demonstrates that the current theories of informal and illicit flows are inadequate theoretically or to develop proper policies. Both the formal and informal, as well as licit and illicit, flows and production of goods are interwoven through economic practice.

Little research exists specifically tracking the movement of illicit goods and analyzing their economic role in social and economic practices regarding informal economic activity. The results of this study show how the production, distribution, and consumption of illicit goods are integral to the economic transformation of the post‐socialist economy from the household and firm level, and in such practices encourage marketization and capitalist development.

This study aims to explain how cryptocurrency is leveraged for illicit purposes across the global financial system. Specifically, it establishes how cryptocurrency has been changing the nature of transnational and domestic money laundering (ML). It then assesses the effectiveness of conventional anti-money laundering (AML) policy and legislation against the proliferation of crypto laundering, using Canada as a critical case study.

Data was collected from court cases and secondary sources to build cross-case trends of cryptocurrency use in ML. Illicit International Political Economy forms the theoretical foundation for this study, whose contribution is situated in the current literature on crypto-ML.

This study finds that Bitcoin is common among crypto-money launderers, though most also use some form of alt-coin, and that the use of third-party currency exchanges is a prevalent method to create illicit funds and conceal proceeds of crime. The findings validate two hypotheses that illicit use of crypto is prevalent in the first two stages of ML, and that crypto is most often used in conjunction with other fiat currencies. Although law enforcement is improving on monitoring and understanding popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, alt-coins pose a significant challenge for criminal intelligence. New regulations for third-party currency exchanges are having a positive impact on curtailing crypto-laundering but are shown to be insufficient per se to contain the use of crypto in criminal activity.

This study contributes to a more robust understanding of the use of virtual currency in transnational and domestic ML. It contributes to an emerging body of literature on the role of technological change in enabling the global flow of illicit funds. It also informs public policy on virtual currency in general, and on AML regulation in Canada in particular.

The purpose of this paper is to assess and highlight the approach taken towards the legal control of illicit money laundering taken in the Republic of Kazakhstan, in particular, the role played by an amnesty on the legalisation of illicit funds. This is particularly important as a basis for a wider discussion about the proper limits of the “criminalising” approaches commonly taken in anti-money laundering regulations.

The discussion and evaluation in the paper is based upon a conceptual analysis of the money laundering regime in Kazakhstan, in particular, the legal framework and policies of implementation adopted.

The paper demonstrates that the problems that are posed by the shadow economy in post-Soviet transition societies can make the blanket criminalisation of money laundering a self-defeating approach, unless accompanied by measures which allow for the achievement of “market-constituting” effects.

The paper draws on experience and practice in one jurisdiction only (Kazakhstan); it also limits its focus to one particular example of a money laundering amnesty policy. Both of these limitations, therefore, suggest avenues for further comparative research.

The paper’s conclusions about the interactions between the shadow economies of transitional societies and the global anti-money laundering agenda have wider application in assessments of international law in this area.

The purpose of this paper is to examine anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) developments in Myanmar in light of its recent political and economic transition from military rule to a civilian, democratic government. This paper will discuss the changes in Myanmar’s AML/CFT frameworks, as well as international blacklisting and sanctions that have targeted Myanmar since the late 1990s. It also highlights issues that are likely to challenge Myanmar’s ability to ensure compliance with international best practices, especially as the local financial sector expands and foreign investment increases.

This paper draws on available literature and open source reporting.

This review is a timely update of Myanmar’s progress with its AML/CFT frameworks at a time that it is trying to encourage foreign investment and engagement and international businesses. But while Myanmar’s “opening” is seen by many as an opportunity, it still presents significant AML/CFT risks for investors because of a considerable lack of technical expertise, as well as financial and human resources to ensure compliance and enforcement occur.

Myanmar is a very under-researched area and has had minimal focus on its AML/CFT frameworks or the risks present in the economy. This paper will be a useful source for researchers, academics, policymakers, lawyers and private sector actors seeking to engage or invest in Myanmar’s economy.

The purpose of this paper is to review the investment-savings, liquidity-money (IS–LM) model used in the traditional macroeconomic theory as an important tool to analyze the dynamics of product and money market. The IS curve represents product market equilibrium condition and the LM curve represents money market equilibrium condition. However, the traditional IS–LM model was formulated mainly keeping in mind the dynamics of the product and money markets of developed economies. Thus, there was an urgent need to explore the pre-established IS–LM model in the light of existing enormous, illicit underground economies prevalent all around the world.

In this paper, an exploratory attempt has been made to review the IS–LM model in the light of various illicit practices and by incorporating some assumptions that are relevant to this discussion. In this model, IS_il curve could be defined as a locus of points each representing a combination of evaded tax and output of the illicit economy that will keep the illicit economy in equilibrium and, the LM_il curve could be defined as a locus of points each representing a combination of illicit supply of money and output of the illicit economy that will keep the illicit economy in equilibrium.

This paper is aimed at analyzing the traditional IS–LM model from a different perspective, namely, the pervasive underground economy thriving all around the world regardless of the stages of growth and development. A sincere attempt has been made to keep the assumptions simple and closest to the real-world scenario as well as pertinent to the logic of economic theory. In this paper, two major factors of illicit practices, i.e. tax evasion and bribery, are given prime importance and the discussion is focused on those two factors of corruption.

This paper has been prepared keeping in view the standard technical procedures and findings that are described in the relevant academic materials like textbooks and journal publications (mentioned under the “References” column). The analysis and findings appearing in the article are based on logical explanations and are completely free from plagiarism.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the treats hindering war against illicit financial flows of organised crime in developing economies and Nigeria in particular. The examination shows that the impediments facing the fight against money laundering and organised crime financial flows vary from one country to another. It may be lesser in developed economies where most instruments, treaties and best practice recommendations to curb serious crime originated from. However, the impediments against the proceeds of organised crime in developing economies are overwhelming.

The research methodology adopted was qualitative analysis. This was applied through the use and analysis of documents and expert interviews.

The impediments jeopardising the success against organised crime and other related serious crime financial flows in developing economies are devastating. Consequently, the study offered some policy implications to help mitigate these impediments in developing countries. The dynamics and the phenomena of organised crime business model are operated with ingenious strategies within the global states. Therefore, staying in control of the menace and the threats originated from the organised criminal activities would require periodic review of the global initiatives, standards and strategies deployed by the standard setters to combat organised crime and its financial flows in developing and evolving economies. Additionally, the implementing countries should be carried along and allow to make inputs when such initiatives and standards are being developed.

In Nigeria, there is a clear evidence of “collateral damage” in terms of social justice as result of financial exclusion of many bankable adults of the country that do not possess unique identities for account opening documentation and customer due diligence of the Financial Action Task Force recommendation 10.

There have been quite a number of studies on organised crime and still fewer have recognised the need to explore the success or failure of combating the proceeds of crime in developing economies. This study provides answer to these gaps by screening associated risks of fighting the proceeds of organised crime in developing countries and Nigeria in particular.

This paper aims to empirically explore the effects of globalization, corruption perception, political stability, macroeconomic vulnerability and gross domestic savings on illicit financial outflows of 60 developing countries from 2004 to 2013.

Pedroni’s heterogeneous panel data methodology for co-integration is applied. Panel unit root tests reveal non-stationarity of each variable in level, and a battery of seven panel co-integration tests largely confirm long-run equilibrium relationship among the variables under study.

The panel vector error correction model estimates show that variables tend to converge toward long-run equilibrium at a very slow pace amid some short-term random fluctuations. At the same time, political stability reduces illicit financial outflows.

There are enhancing impacts of globalization, corruption perception, macroeconomic vulnerability and domestic gross savings on illicit financial outflows. Political stability dampens such outflows. To the authors’ knowledge, such studies are either very scant or non-existent.

This study builds on the extant research of the authors on illegal rural enterprise (IRE). However, instead of taking a single or micro case approach within specific sections of the farming and food industries we examine the concept holistically from a macro case perspective. Many IRE crimes simply could not be committed without insider knowledge and complicity, making it essential to appreciate this when researching or investigating such crimes.

Using data from published studies, we introduce the theoretical concept of “Shadow infrastructure” to analyse and explain the prevalence and endurance of such criminal enterprises. Using a multiple case approach, we examine data across the cases to provide an analysis of several industry wide crimes—the illicit halal meat trade; the theft of sheep; the theft of tractors and plant; and the supply of illicit veterinary medicines.

We examine IRE crimes across various sectors to identify commonalities in practice and in relation to business models drawing from a multidisciplinary literature spanning business and criminology. Such enterprises can be are inter-linked. We also provide suggestions on investigating such structures.

We identify academic and practical implications in relation to the investigation of IRE crime and from an academic perspective in relation to researching the phenomenon.

This study combines data from numerous individual studies from a macro perspective to provide practical solutions to a multifaceted problem.