The British courts will now have longer to investigate and can target companies that own properties in questionable arrangements. But key issues remain unresolved.
A judicial commission has found that the Guptas orchestrated massive corruption and the capture of the South African state, with the help of their friend, former president Jacob Zuma.
Enforcing punishments on proven tax cheats could provide benefits beyond improving compliance to tax laws. Once offenders pay up, billions lost to offshore scandals could be recouped and the tax burden more fairly shared among taxpayers.
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Research suggests punishing tax cheats can re-establish a sense of justice among the general public, so authorities should use their resources to ensure culpable offenders are held accountable.
Whether the Victorian royal commission leads to a more responsible gambling industry depends on the recommendations the state government has kicked down the road.
Marc Tassé, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Highly compensated ‘enablers’ such as financial experts, lawyers, accountants, notaries, estate agents and company service providers are assisting oligarchs, dictators and criminals around the world.
Technology has been key in tackling fraud.
Mpedigree
There is a growing trend to import another Americanism into the Canadian anti-money laundering strategy: a whistleblower incentive program that would amount to bounty hunting for violations.
Last year, men were more likely to report losses to investment fraud, while women were the main target for romance fraud. Overall, men reported higher financial loss.
Justices of the Supreme Court will hear a crucial case on the limits of presidential power.
Getty/Saul Loeb/AFP
A public inquiry into money laundering underway in British Columbia holds out hope for reform, but the problems run deep.
The trouble with looking for transactions ‘consistent’ with ‘known’ patterns ‘indicative’ of child exploitation payments to countries with ‘known’ risks is that countless legitimate payments exhibit similar features.
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Anti-money laundering rules give the comfort of doing something, but prevent surprisingly little crime.
Westpac is “deeply sorry” and has pledged to spend $18 million over three years tackling the online sexual exploitation of children in the Philippines.
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The number one commandment of the anti money laundering law is “Know your customer”. AUSTRAC is alleging Westpac didn’t, and didn’t seem to want to.
Westpac has its Annual General Meeting on December 12. “No doubt, there’ll be some very hard discussions between now and then,” Joshn Frydenberg said.
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The government at the weekend piled on more pressure for Westpac heads to roll over the bank’s money laundering scandal, with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg saying the affair had a long way to play out. “These…
A crucial problem with the global approach to anti-money laundering is the emphasis on demonstrating activity rather than results.
Paul Miller/AAP
Anti-money laundering efforts are based on measuring activity, not results. To cut crime and terrorism, we need a frank conversation about where the system has gone wrong.
The commission chaired by Justice Raymond Zondo has heard shocking testimony on the extent of corruption in government.
EFE-EPA/Kim Ludbrook