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The purpose of this paper is to assert that the exclusive use of predicate offence as a means of proving money laundering is an inadequate response to the level of threat presented by the crime. It aims to promote the concept of “irresistible inference” from UK case law as a basis for establishing international consensus that this provides an alternative and possibly more effective means of prosecuting the crime.

The paper considers academic research into the incidence of money laundering and the effectiveness of anti‐money laundering measures; it considers the efficacy of current UK legislation on money laundering; assesses legal views on recent developments in UK case law relating to the concept of “irresistible inference”; identifies what “irresistible inference” looks like and asserts its practical value as an alternative basis for proving criminality of funds in money laundering prosecutions.

An effective international response to the increasing threat to international institutions posed by money laundering requires development of new approaches to proving criminality of funds. The use of irresistible inference as an alternative to predicate offence, however, requires development of the international understanding of what it looks like in order that relevant policy makers and legal decision makers can deploy it with confidence so that it is able to make the significant contribution to the international effort against money laundering it is capable of.

To facilitate the necessary international consensus, it may be necessary in some jurisdictions to amend legislation where it currently relies on predicate offence for the prosecution of money laundering cases.

A failure to effectively combat international money laundering implies acceptance of an attitude of complacency in the face of increasing exposure to levels of threat in the form of political and social corruption, organized crime and terrorism that ought to be unacceptable to the international community.

International acceptance of “irresistible inference” as a means of proving criminality in money laundering cases would deliver a radically more hostile environment for international money launderers. This paper is designed to open up thinking along these lines across international borders.

This paper aims to highlight the persistent influence of the concept of “predicate offence” in respect of how the crime of money laundering is conceived and discussed, and to discuss how this inhibits the ability to prosecute the crime even where, as is the case in the UK, “predicate offence” is not a requirement of the relevant legislation.

Discussion of a recent UK Supreme Court judgment, R v GH, in particular, how the import of it appears to contrast with perceptions offered by the experience of two recent money laundering convictions on Scotland, where no evidence was led on establishing the money was criminal before the criminal act was libelled as money laundering. Design of modern money laundering schemes are illustrated and assessed in terms of how they can be prosecuted in the context of prevailing interpretations of the law.

The effectiveness of the UK money laundering offences as set out in the Proceeds of Crime Act of 2002 requires revaluation. Clarification is required in respect of how criminality in such cases can be proved. Consideration should be given to introducing new legislation targeted at the transmission of money or value under the cover of false documentation.

Clarification is required on how the concept of “irresistible inference” as established by R v Anwoir can be applied to money laundering cases in light of the R v GH judgement of the UK Supreme Court.

Upgrade of law enforcement knowledge base and investigation skills is required to prosecute existing money laundering offences more effectively, but the lack of clarity as to what will suffice as proof of criminality serves to inhibit the investigation of these crimes as well as their prosecution.

Protection of democracies, democratic institutions and the communities they serve from the corrupting influence of laundered criminal money through more effective prosecution of money laundering offences.

To encourage discussion on whether the relevant legislation remains fit for purpose and what practical measures can be taken to improve it.

Crimes that take place in the context of procurements, such as corruption and subsidy fraud, are a major problem for both integrity and fiscal accountability of public administration. Therefore, combatting such crimes is of great importance. However, this course of action works only if the prosecutors have the instruments designed for what is precisely needed for their fight. One of the things needed is elements of crimes that can be handled easily; and to show this is the purpose of this study.

The author’s practical experience as a state prosecutor dealing with corruption cases and enriched with philosophical thinking about the principles of law indicates that one thing is especially important with regard to the elements of crimes: simplicity.

Corruption and financial crime cases are quite often very complex, involving many participants and considerable effort by the perpetrators to disguise their real actions as normal business procedures. As a result, finding evidence is a difficult task. If the elements of crimes are complex and if they demand detailed evidence, then proving procurement criminality will be even more difficult as it already is and will quite frequently end up in failure. Therefore, giving prosecutors a simple legal framework with elements of crimes, demanding only what realistically can be proven is a key factor for success.

Only with such a simple legal framework can the prosecutor’s fight against procurement criminality bring urgent, positive results.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the challenges of proving criminality in money laundering cases and the extent to which forensic accountancy within law enforcement can assist in meeting them.

This paper reviews the development of relevant case law; and considers legal viewpoints on the use of forensic accountancy evidence in court.

The use of forensic accountancy within law enforcement provides a means of enabling Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) achieve the results it was enacted to achieve.

A more resilient attitude to financial complexity is required on the part of prosecutors if complexity is not to continue to succeed as a method of rendering serious financial crime immune to prosecution.

The money laundering provisions of POCA are enacted to provide a means of prosecuting the leaders and professional enablers of organised crime groups who benefitted from crime but were able to divorce themselves from the actual crimes committed on their behalf. The failure of POCA to effectively deliver on this objective undermines its authority and reputation and thereby reduces hope in the communities that are vulnerable to organised crime.

The use of forensic accountancy within law enforcement is a new initiative. This paper sets out the need for such an initiative and it can make a significant contribution in the fight against organised crime.

This study aims to develop a newer, revised model of money laundering of general application, and to apply that updated laundering model to the use of cash in Canada. A wide-ranging analytical tool for identifying money laundering is described, which demands a comparative evaluation of available financial choices against choices made, concentrating on factors which matter most to economic enterprises: speed, cost and security. The model is applied to bulk cash money laundering and the use of cash in the Canadian context, a mature economy where cash is predominantly used for micro-payments. The inference of criminality to be drawn from bulk use of cash is explored, as is any need for continued circulation of large denomination banknotes.

Extensive criminal investigative experience is juxtaposed with practices of legitimate commerce. As to patterns of transactional conduct, a review is undertaken of publications from financial institutions including the Bank of Canada.

The model may be applied generally. In light of modern banking realities, strong inferences of criminality arise from the bulk use of cash.

Documented standards of legitimate commerce and proven laundering behaviours provide more reliable evidence than voluntary disclosures from surveys.

The model promotes an objective analysis of financial conduct either in conjunction with, or independent of extrinsic evidence, and can augment historic lists of laundering indicators and identify new laundering typologies.

The speed, cost and security model moves towards a renewed paradigm for understanding laundering, beyond traditional cash-based models. This instructive model applies to the full spectrum of laundering, from frauds to cash-based street crimes. By examining the inherent characteristics of financial choices, investigations may proceed without tipping off targets. The model maximizes the investigative value of know-your-customer information.

The purpose of this paper is to consider recent UK case law on money laundering and consider how the concept of “predicate offence” continues to have a restricting influence on the scope of the relevant legislation. The paper aims to consider recent experience both in the UK and abroad and that notions of what money laundering is and how it can be prosecuted need to quickly evolve to maintain the credibility of the anti‐money laundering environment. This requires a move to accepting that the offence can be proved by reference to the way money is treated that is not dependent on a specified or predicate offence.

The paper presents a review of relevant case law and commentaries thereon. It assesses of new international approaches and analyses specific UK legal provisions relating to money laundering and how they can be amended to be more effective in practice.

Nearly ten years after the advent of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), a minor but telling amendment to the definition of “criminal property” would help to remove uncertainty as to what constitutes criminal property and increase confidence in the use of the POCA money laundering provisions as an effective weapon against offenders.

The requirement for further legal research and debate is implied.

Practical implications of the paper are the improvement of the effectiveness, and encouraging more use of, the POCA money laundering provisions.

Social implications of the paper are the protection of communities by improved effectiveness of measures taken against those who profit from crime.

This paper encourages debate on the topic of money laundering and knowledge.

As the US criminal justice system and immigration system increasingly interconnect, even immigration policy that is facially race-neutral may involve biased practices. The purpose of this paper is to examine how institutional racism in criminal legal processes creates particular barriers for many individuals of Latin American and/or African descent facing deportation proceedings in US immigration courts, particularly in assertions regarding gang affiliation.

This research is based on ethnographic observation. The work utilized a grounded theory approach. The observation took place at public master calendar hearings at a Midwestern immigration court between 2013 and 2015, yielding over 400 pages of fieldnotes that were coded and analyzed for patterns.

Non-citizens in the USA, including lawful permanent residents, are subject to deportation if labeled “criminal.” Racial profiling and criminalization of communities of color create heightened risk of deportation. Assumptions that common tattoos or urban fashion indicate criminality, reliance on Facebook posts to “prove” gang membership, and the use of arrest records as evidence of criminality even if charges were dropped all put immigrants of Latin American and/or African descent at heightened risk.

The ethnographic method used has strong validity but weaker reliability and generalizability.

This paper can help analysts, policymakers and advocates consider how to adapt systems to increase equity.

This research provides direct examples and ethnographic evidence of how race and cultural bias in criminal legal processes and immigration policies can affect people in deportation proceedings.

In R v Anwoir [2008] EWCA Crim 1354, the English Court of Appeal held that, in money laundering prosecutions, the criminal provenance of property can be proved by showing that the circumstances in which the property was handled give rise to the irresistible inference that it can only have been derived from crime. The purpose of this paper is to analyse subsequent developments that have revealed the contours, and some of the limits, of proof by “irresistible inference”.

This paper reviews the reported cases in which an “irresistible inference” was drawn and identifies the features common to most of them. It then explores the limits of proof by “irresistible inference” by reference to the continuing relevance of predicate offences and the use of money laundering tools and techniques for non-laundering purposes.

Most of the cases in which an “irresistible inference” was drawn fall within a narrow compass of five categories. The breadth of the principle is constrained by the characteristics of the predicate offence, and its usefulness is limited in cases where the typologies of the predicate offence and the money laundering offence overlap significantly.

This paper may be useful to those involved in prosecuting or defending money laundering cases, as well as regulated persons assessing their money laundering risks and disclosure obligations.

The phenomenon of criminal behaviour has interested scholars from academic disciplines building on centuries of philosophical debate developed from emerging biological, psychological and social sciences. Criminological theories of causation are embedded in conceptual networks that link political ideology classified by philosophical underpinnings. For example, the late 18th and early 19th century utilitarianism consensus classical theory supported the notion of free will, suggesting that individuals were likely to commit crime if the pay‐off were greater than the retribution. In contrast, conflict marxist and radical criminology regarded crime as a function of poverty, reflecting a power imbalance in society. The late 19th century saw the emergence of the positivist school, which argued that factors including genetics, poverty, personality and the family were important in determining criminality. This article concentrates on the transmission of crime through families by reviewing a selection of the main studies in the area.

The purpose of this paper is to advocate the inclusion and development within law enforcement of relevant professional skills which will enable strategic analyses to be made of organised crime groups as economic entities; the ultimate aim being to identify and neutralise the distinctive capabilities which underpin their assessable competitive advantage.

Discussion of challenges facing law enforcement in tackling the finances of organised crime and outline of an adapted business strategy model to identify the characteristics of the competitive advantages exploited by economically successful organised crime groups.

Money laundering remains a difficult crime to prosecute yet it is the key crime enabling organised crime groups to develop their influence in our democracies. Law enforcement must broaden their approach to disabling this crime by developing relevant skill sets which can analyse the distinctive capabilities of organised crime groups as competitive economic players as a means of identifying relevant options and opportunities to disrupt and dismantle them.

The development of mature business strategy skills as part of the law enforcement effort against organised crime is implied.

Adapting the culture of law enforcement to accommodate the relevant professional skills required to effectively combat organised crime in the field of economic crime.

Protecting democracies, democratic institutions and the communities they serve through the improved effectiveness of measures taken against Organised Crime Groups.

It is hoped the paper will encourage debate on the topic.