Money laundering
Money laundering is the execution of transactions to disguise the illegal origin of money or other items. The purpose of money laundering is to be able to spend or invest illegally obtained assets without the illegal origin being proven. This can prevent the money from being seized by the judiciary or the tax authorities and it can also prevent the judiciary from tracing the perpetrator of the crime through the money.
Money laundering is a criminal offense in almost all countries. Whoever engages in this risks criminal prosecution, administrative sanctions, and disciplinary sanctions. Money laundering is usually an independent offense in the Netherlands. By making it as difficult as possible to derive financial benefits from criminal activities, it is hoped that crime itself will be discouraged. There is a parallel here with healing.
 |
| Money Laundering |
Although the laundered assets must originate from any criminal act, the predicate offense must not be proven. The predicate offense can be a criminal activity such as drug trafficking, but assets from legal employment that have not been reported to the tax authorities (also known as black money ) also constitute the offense of money laundering.
While it is usually money laundering, other objects can also be laundered to disguise their illegal origin. This often involves taking apart, repainting, forging papers, or reselling stolen or misappropriated goods several times (although this is often criminally classified as receiving stolen property ). Even children can be laundered.
Stages of Money laundering
Money laundering includes three stages:
Ø Placement - the introduction of funds into the financial system with the help of some means;
Ø Laying - conducting complex financial transactions to disguise an illegal source of funds;
Ø Integration - is the acquisition of wealth obtained from transactions with illegal funds.
Some of these steps may be skipped, depending on the circumstances. For example, there is no need to allocate cash receipts that are already in the financial system
Black money refers to income or wealth that is illegally earned, not declared for tax purposes, or otherwise hidden from government authorities. The types of black money can vary depending on the sources and methods used to generate it.
Here are some common kinds of black money:
Ø Illegal Activities: Black money can be generated from illegal activities such as drug trafficking, smuggling, human trafficking, extortion, bribery, and other criminal activities.
Ø Tax Evasion: Inpiduals or businesses may engage in tax evasion by not reporting all of their income to tax authorities, thereby avoiding paying taxes on that income. This can result in the accumulation of black money.
Ø Corruption: Corruption is another source of black money. Government officials and politicians may demand or accept bribes to provide favorable treatment, contracts, or other benefits. These bribes may be in the form of cash or other assets.
Ø Money Laundering: Money laundering is the process of converting black money into white money by making it appear as if it was earned through legal means. This is typically done through a series of financial transactions to conceal the original source of the funds.
Ø Hawala Transactions: Hawala is an informal and unregulated money transfer system that is used to move money between countries or jurisdictions. These transactions can be used to transfer black money without leaving a trail.
Ø Undisclosed Property Transactions: Undisclosed property transactions, also known as "benami" transactions, involve the purchase of property in someone else's name to avoid paying taxes or to conceal the true ownership of the property.
Overall, black money is generated through various illegal or unethical activities, which makes it difficult to track and regulate.
