Money Laundering and the Law in Brief

Text 1

 

Old. Smart. Productive

 

New Yorker Emma Shulman is a dynamo. The veteran social worker spends 50 hours a week recruiting people for treatment at an Alzheimer’s clinic at New York University School of Medicine. Her boss, psychiatrist Steven H. Ferris, dreads the day she decides to retire: “We’d definitely have to hire two or three people to replace her,” he says. Oh, one more thing about Emma Shulman. She’s nearly 93 years old.

Shulman is more than one amazing woman. She just might be a harbinger of things to come as the leading edge of the 78 million-strong Baby Boom generation approaches its golden years. Of course, nobody’s predicting that boomers will routinely work into their 90s. But Shulman - and better-known oldsters like investor Kirk Kerkorian, 87, and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, 79 - are proof that productive, paving work does not have to end at 55, 60, or even 65.

Old. Smart. Productive. Rather than being an economic deadweight, the next generation of older Americans is likely to make a much bigger contribution to the economy than many of today’s forecasts predict. Sure, most people slow down as they get older. But new research suggests that boomers will have the ability – and the desire – to work productively and innovatively well beyond today’s normal retirement age. If society can tap their talents, employers will benefit, living standards will be higher, and America’s problems financing its Social Security and Medicare systems will be easier to solve. The logic is so powerful that it is likely to sweep aside many of the legal barriers and corporate practices that today keep older workers from achieving their full productive potential.


Text 2

 

Discouraging litigation

 

In England and Wales, use of the courts to resolve disputes is seen very much as a matter of last resort. Even when proceedings have been started, there are usually procedures which encourage the parties to settle without the need for a court hearing. So under the rules governing litigation in the county courts and the High Court, it is possible to conduct correspondence without this being seen as an admission of liability. Any correspondence marked ‘without prejudice’ cannot be presented in evidence in court without the privilege attaching to such communications being lifted. This enables parties to discuss in a full and frank manner how the case might be settled by negotiation. Other devices such as payment into court encourage the settlement of cases without formal adjudication. Under this procedure, a defendant can pay a sum of money into court in full and final settlement of the claim. The defendant then has to decide whether to accept that sum or to continue to fight the case. Defendants who refuse the money paid in run the risk that, if the judge at trial awards a lesser sum, the defendant will recover no costs from the date of the payment into court and will instead be liable for the other side’s costs from that point. Since costs escalate dramatically nearer the trial, this can be a significant additional burden for defendants.

Except in the case of minors, the court does not normally concern itself with the fairness of any settlement.

The position in tribunals is similar. In the employment tribunals the filing of an originating application triggers a formal process of conciliation in order to seek to secure a conciliated settlement of the dispute. In social security claims, the filing of an appeal triggers a formal review of the adjudication officer’s decision in order to determine whether the decision appealed against is correct.

Text 3

 

Skylark wiped out

by our financial affairs correspondent Hazel Watts

 

Skylark plc, the low-cost airline founded in the late 1990s, announced yesterday that it had gone into liquidation. This is the second European budget airline to go under in as many months. The announcement followed weeks of speculation that the airline’s creditors were unwilling to bail it out with extra cash. “The company will now be wound up as a matter of urgency,” said Jonathan Mills, Skylark’s CEO. This will be little comfort to Skylark’s unsecured creditors, some of whom will have to write off considerable sums.

Skylark had been the big success story of the past decade. It quickly rose to become the leading player in the budget airline market with a spectacular series of hostile takeovers. Criticism of Skylark’s sharp business practices was growing, however, and the decision of the OFT to impose a £50 m fine for price fixing set the company back financially towards the end of last year. In order to make this payment, Skylark was forced to draw on its capital reserves and to borrow as well. When the markets suffered a downturn earlier this year, the airline found itself overstretched. The crunch came when it tried to raise the £20 m it needed to ward off insolvency. So bad was the scale of the problem at this stage, according to inside sources, that the banks refused to put up what, by the standards of the airline industry, is a relatively modest sum.

 


Text 4

 

Money Laundering and the Law in Brief

 

The United States was one of the first countries to introduce tough legislation specifically designed to prevent money laundering. Many other countries have followed suit, and now nearly 100 countries have legislation and regulations to help prevent money laundering.

The goal of the BSA is to identify the source, volume, and movement of currency and other monetary instruments, either into or out of the United States or being deposited in financial institutions. Law enforcement and regulatory agencies are then able to use the information that is reported under the Act to investigate criminal, tax, and regulatory violations.

Simply stated, money laundering is concealing and/or moving illegally generated cash with the purpose of creating the appearance of legitimate funds.

Money launderers use various schemes with many degrees of complexity. In general, money laundering consists of three stages:

1. Placement

2. Layering

3. Integration

“Placement” can be defined as the movement of funds from illegal activities into legitimate financial institutions or the retail economy.

For example, a drug dealer depositing funds from a drug deal into a bank account is an example of the initial placement stage. Because large deposits attract more attention (and deposits over $10,000 require the bank to fill out a Currency Transaction Report), any actions at this stage may involve relatively small transactions.

In the next stage, layering, a money launderer attempts to scramble the origin of the funds, such as by conducting numerous wire transfers to different accounts, to make it difficult to trace the origin of the funds. Illicit funds may be mingled with money obtained through legitimate business transactions.

In the final stage, integration, a money launderer brings the money back into the economy, such as by purchasing homes, businesses, vehicles, and jewelry.

At all times, the money launderer (or perhaps a consortium of money launderers, depending on the setup) must maintain control of the proceeds.

Since the volume of cash or other funds is likely to be very high, money launderers tend to divide up the monies into small enough amounts so as not to arouse suspicion.


Дата добавления: 2018-11-24; просмотров: 224; Мы поможем в написании вашей работы!

Поделиться с друзьями:




Мы поможем в написании ваших работ!