Could Banks do More in the Fight Against Money Laundering?

Viri Chauhan, Global Head of Governance, Risk and Compliance, International Compliance Training Ltd

The purpose of this paper is to examine if banks could do more in stopping laundered money entering into the banking system and if so, to what extent. Even with the vast array of AML provisions implemented globally, money laundering is still prolific and abuses continue in many forms. The distinction between illicit financial flow and money laundering is blurred and it could be argued banks play a role in this grey and ambiguous area. In the past banks have allowed money laundering to occur through poor AML practices despite a rhetoric that promotes a strong compliance culture to money laundering. The strongest evidence that banks are exploited for money laundering and that they should do more to restrict being a vehicle for facilitating the proceeds of crime is in the secrecy and confidentiality laws. This combination provides protection for individuals and corporations to transfer illicit financial capital. Allowing the proceeds of crime into the banks through the combination of the UK and associated territories actually makes up a significant amount of the offshore capital held globally, and the UK and its territories have the highest combined scores of secrecy and lack of transparency. The Crown Dependencies which include Guernsey, Isle of Man and Jersey where the Queen is head of state with powers to appoint government officials and Islands’ Legislatures are inspected by the UK Ministry of Justice to safeguard against conflict with international obligations or fundamental constitutional principles. This is the same for what is known as Overseas Territories which include Anguilla Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, and Gibraltar.

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UK Compliance Banking & Finance August 2015 Vol. 8, No. 32, Summer 2015

Viri Chauhan

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Viri Chauhan is the Global Head of Governance, Risk and Compliance at International Compliance Training, with considerable experience in telecommunications, aerospace, private practice and also in the not for profit sector and academia. Viri is also completing his PhD at Bristol Law School, University of the West of England (UWE) on the subject of illicit financial flows and was also a visiting lecturer there, teaching at Master's level (MBA and LLM) in the subjects of International Banking and Financial Crime. Viri combines these disciplines in a commercial setting to bring out a unique learning experience for students of ICT that can be used in a credible and pragmatic way to meet the challenge of fast paced regulatory change and compliance requirements. Previously Viri was a Director at France Telecom and Orange, responsible for the communications, awareness and training provision in the subject of fraud and revenue assurance across 40 international divisions servicing over 200,000 employees.

International Compliance Training Ltd

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International Compliance Training Ltd is the largest and longest established training partner of the International Compliance Association (ICA). ICT delivers training worldwide leading to the award of ICA's professional qualifications. These qualification

UK Compliance Banking & Finance August 2015 Vol. 8, No. 32, Summer 2015