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Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 12:17 pm
Time: 12:17 pm
Results for money laundering (malawi, namibia)
1 results foundAuthor: Yikona, Stuart Title: Ill-gotten Money and the Economy: Experiences from Malawi and Namibia Summary: Over the last 20 years, the international community has significantly stepped up its efforts to prevent, detect, and deter money flows related to criminal activities and terrorism financing. Since the early 2000s, this drive has extended to developing countries, with most of them introducing anti-money laundering (AML) policies. The primary driver behind this is law enforcement; these policies are aimed at detecting and tracing flows of ill-gotten money, which would enable authorities to fight and prevent crime and recover assets of crime, corruption, and tax evasion. Insufficient attention has been paid to the economic side of ill-gotten money and the efforts to combat such flows, particularly in developing countries. Why is it critical for them, and what is the case for combating the flows of ill-gotten money in countries severely constrained by a lack of resources and limited technical capacity to implement a full AML-framework? Moreover, why are ill-gotten proceeds relevant to the issue of economic development? What is the magnitude of the ill-gotten money flows from activities that generate such flows? Added to this are concerns that anti-money laundering policies may at times actually jeopardize certain development objectives, such as access to finance for poor people. The core objective of this study is to introduce economics into the international debate about anti-money laundering, and to introduce the idea of the usefulness and effectiveness of such policies. We also hope that we might be able to bridge the gap between the law enforcement and economist communities. Indeed, the 2011 World Development Report (WDR) on conflict, security, and development provides us with a critical framework to think through the link between organized crime and development from an economic perspective. The study focuses on two developing countries: Malawi, a low-income country, and Namibia, a middle-income country. The central questions asked are: Why are “proceeds of crime” relevant for economic development? Do “proceeds of crime” and related policy responses help or harm economic development? One critical step in such analysis is to obtain a better understanding of the magnitude of the domestic or cross-border sources of ill-gotten money in a country: how it is recycled through the economy and across its borders or spent and invested. Only then is it possible to discuss the economic effects of the circulation and allocation of ill-gotten money in developing countries and the economic impact of the underlying activities. While not intended to be exhaustive or definitive, this study is meant to contribute to a better understanding and quantification of the issues relevant to the proceeds of crime and economic development. For practical and operational purposes, and to be grounded in country specifics, this study only focuses on Malawi and Namibia. However, it is hoped that the approach developed in this study will be useful to other developing-country governments in identifying the main sources and magnitude of the flows of ill-gotten money, and the main recycling patterns and their effects on the economy. Such a framework will help governments in developing countries to systematically analyze the potential impact of AML and design and prioritize AML policies. The findings presented in this study are based on an extensive literature research; World Bank discussions with numerous public- and private-sector officials and representatives of the Governments of Malawi and Namibia during a Bank mission in November 2010; and workshops conducted in both countries in February 2011 to obtain feedback on the preliminary findings. In conducting this study, the team adopted an interactive approach. This was critical because mobilization of local expertise is essential not only in establishing a complete picture of current and future AML challenges, but also in designing policy considerations that subsequently are widely supported. Details: Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2012. 114p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 14, 2012 at: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2011/10/31/000386194_20111031015900/Rendered/PDF/651760PUB0EPI100money09780821388877.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Africa URL: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2011/10/31/000386194_20111031015900/Rendered/PDF/651760PUB0EPI100money09780821388877.pdf Shelf Number: 124132 Keywords: CorruptionEconomic DevelopmentEconomics and CrimeFinancial CrimesMoney Laundering (Malawi, Namibia)Organized CrimeProceeds of crimeTax Evasion |