A BILLION DOLLAR PROBLEM - MONEY LAUNDERING IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Abstract

Money laundering hides the illicit origin of proceeds of illegal activities such as drug trafficking, organized crime and international terrorism, but they also pose a threat by contaminating the financial institutions and undermining confidence in the international financial system.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the nature of money laundering, terrorist financing and the problems with tackling illicit funds entering in to the financial system, focusing mainly at the difficulties of enforcing international laws. This thesis begins by introducing the international organisations, which tackles money laundering, then examines the anti-money laundering legislatives in different jurisdictions and the challenges they are facing. Furthermore, this dissertation will explore the main stages of money laundering and some known methods of money laundering with some real world scenarios.