Politically Exposed Persons


Book Description

In recent years, revelations of grand corruption and the plunder of state assets have led to greater scrutiny of financial relationships with politically exposed persons (PEPs) senior government officials and their family members and close associates. Notwithstanding the efforts by many financial institutions and regulatory authorities to prevent corrupt PEPs from entering and using the financial system to launder the proceeds of corruption, there has been an overall failure in the effective implementation of international standards on PEPs. Implementation of an effective PEP regime is a critical component in the prevention and detection of transfers of proceeds of crime and, therefore, ultimately in the process of recovering them. 'Politically Exposed Persons: Preventive Measures for the Banking Sector' is designed to help banks and regulatory authorities address the risks posed by PEPs and prevent corrupt PEPs from using domestic and international financial systems to launder the proceeds of corruption. The book provides recommendations and good practices aimed at improving compliance with international standards and increasing supervisory effectiveness. It is an important tool for individuals, governments, financial and private sector companies, and international organizations involved in developing and implementing standards aimed at fighting corruption and money laundering, and trying to recover stolen assets and the proceeds of corruption.




Assets, Crimes and the State


Book Description

Organised crime, corruption, and terrorism are considered to pose significant and unrelenting threats to the integrity, security, and stability of contemporary societies. Alongside traditional criminal enforcement responses, strategies focused on following the money trail of such crimes have become increasingly prevalent. These strategies include anti-money laundering measures to prevent ‘dirty money’ from infiltrating the legitimate economy, proceeds of crime powers to target the accumulated assets derived from crime, and counter-terrorist financing measures to prevent ‘clean’ money from being used for terrorist purposes. This collection brings together 17 emerging researchers in the fields of anti-money laundering, proceeds of crime, counter-terrorist financing and corruption to offer critical analyses of contemporary anti-assets strategies and state responses to a range of financial crimes. The chapters focus on innovative anti-financial crime measures and assemblages of governance that have become a feature of late modernity and on the ways in which individual nation states have responded to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing requirements in light of their specific social, political, and economic contexts. This collection draws on perspectives from law, criminology, sociology, politics, and other disciplines. It adopts a much-needed international approach, focusing not only on expected jurisdictions, such as the United States and United Kingdom, but also on analysis from countries such as Qatar, Kuwait, Iran, and Nigeria. The authors stand out for their fresh and original research, which places them at the cutting edge of the subject. This book provides a comprehensive, insightful, and original study of an important and developing field for academics, students, practitioners, and policymakers in multiple jurisdictions.




The Puppet Masters


Book Description

This report examines the use of these entities in nearly all cases of corruption. It builds upon case law, interviews with investigators, corporate registries and financial institutions and a 'mystery shopping' exercise to provide evidence of this criminal practice.




Routledge Handbook of Transnational Criminal Law


Book Description

Certain types of crime are increasingly being perpetrated across national borders and require a unified regional or global response to combat them. Transnational criminal law covers both the international treaty obligations which require States to introduce specific substantive measures into their domestic criminal law schemes, and an allied procedural dimension concerned with the articulation of inter-state cooperation in pursuit of the alleged transnational criminal. The Routledge Handbook of Transnational Criminal Law provides a comprehensive overview of the system which is designed to regulate cross border crime. The book looks at the history and development of the system, asking questions as to the principal purpose and effectiveness of transnational criminal law as it currently stands. The book brings together experts in the field, both scholars and practitioners, in order to offer original and forward-looking analyses of the key elements of the transnational criminal law. The book is split into several parts for ease of reference: Fundamental concepts surrounding the international regulation of transnational crime. Procedures for international cooperation against alleged transnational criminals including jurisdiction, police cooperation, asset recovery and extradition. Substantive crimes covered by transnational criminal law analysing the current legal provisions for each crime. The implementation of transnational criminal law and the effectiveness of the system of transnational criminal law. With chapters from over 25 authorities in the field, this handbook will be an invaluable reference work for student and academics and for policy makers with an interest in transnational criminal law.




Encyclopedia of Transnational Crime and Justice


Book Description

Transnational crimes involve border crossings as an integral part of the criminal activity. They also include crimes that take place in one country with consequences that significantly affect other countries. Examples include human trafficking, smuggling (arms, drugs, currency), sex slavery, non-domestic terrorism, and financial crimes. Transnational organized crime refers specifically to transnational crime carried out by organized crime syndicates. Although several encyclopedias cover aspects of transnational crime, it is this encyclopedia′s emphasis on transnational justice, as well, that differentiates it from the pack. Not only do we define, describe, and chart the crimes and criminal activity, we also will include significant coverage of policing those crimes and prosecuting them within domestic and international court systems. Accessible and jargon-free and available in both print and electronic formats, the one-volume Encyclopedia of Transnational Crime and Justice will contain such entries as arms smuggling, art fraud, charity fraud, hacking and computer viruses, copyright infringement, counterfeiting, drug smuggling, extradition, human trafficking, intelligence agencies, international banking laws, Internet scams, Interpol, money laundering, pollution and waste disposal, price fixing, prosecution, sanctions, sex slavery, tax evasion, terrorism, war crimes, the World Court, and more. Features & Benefits: 150 signed entries (each with Cross References and Further Readings) are organized in A-to-Z fashion to give students easy access to the full range of topics in transnational crime and justice. A thematic Reader′s Guide in the front matter groups entries by broad topical or thematic areas to make it easy for users to find related entries at a glance. In the electronic version, the Reader′s Guide combines with a detailed Index and the Cross References to provide users with convenient search-and-browse capacities. A Chronology in the back matter helps students put individual events into broader historical context. A Glossary provides students with concise definitions of key terms in the field. A Resource Guide to classic books, journals, and web sites (along with the Further Readings accompanying each entry) helps guide students to further resources in their research journeys. An Appendix includes the Congressional Research Service Report on International Terrorism and Transnational Crime.




Corruption and Development in Nigeria


Book Description

Despite being Africa’s largest economy and most populous country, with abundant natural resources, Nigeria still faces substantial development challenges. This book argues that corruption lies at the heart of many of the country’s problems. Drawing on a range of different disciplinary perspectives, this volume explores the relationship between corruption and development, investigating the causes, contexts, and consequences of corruption, and the pathways for addressing it. As well as covering the wider background and theory surrounding corruption in the country, the book will investigate different sectors: the media, the judiciary, the health sector, industry, the criminal justice system, and of course politics and governance. The book concludes by considering attitudes and perceptions to corruption within Nigeria, current approaches to countering corruption, and future pathways to addressing the problem. This book’s critical investigation of the links between corruption and development in Nigeria will be of interest to researchers of corruption, development and African Studies, as well as to policy makers, practitioners, and local stakeholders.




The Routledge Handbook of African Law


Book Description

The Routledge Handbook of African Law provides a comprehensive, critical overview of the contemporary legal terrain in Africa. The international team of expert contributors adopt an analytical and comparative approach so that readers can see the nexus between different jurisdictions and different legal traditions across the continent. The volume is divided into five parts covering: Legal Pluralism and African Legal Systems The State, Institutions, Constitutionalism, and Democratic Governance Economic Development, Technology, Trade, and Investment Human Rights, Gender-Based Violence, and Access to Justice International Law, Institutions, and International Criminal Law Providing important insights into both the specific contexts of African legal systems and the ways in which these legal traditions intersect with the wider world, this handbook will be an essential resource for academics, researchers, lawyers, and graduate and undergraduate students studying this ever-evolving field.




Democratic Governance and Political Participation in Nigeria 1999-2014


Book Description

Democratic Governance and Political Participation in Nigeria 1999-2014 seeks to critically analyse Nigeria's democratic experience since 1999 when the current Republic was instituted. Given the chequered democratic antecedents of the country, the book examines the factors responsible for the resilience of the present democratic dispensation, in spite of forces inhibiting democratic consolidation. It also examines these inhibiting forces and makes recommendations for overcoming them. Finally, the book seeks to stimulate intellectual discourse on Nigeria's democracy and arouse greater research interests in the subject.




Governance in Nigeria post-1999: Revisiting the democratic ‘new dawn’ of the Fourth Republic


Book Description

At the start of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic on 29 May 1999, there was great optimism as to the emergence of a new democratic future representing a significant break from the political undulations of the past. Two decades and four presidential epochs later, there is a prevalent question as to how well Nigeria has fared in governance and human rights post-1999. This book revisits the democratic ‘new dawn’ of the Fourth Republic discussing pertinent matters integral to Nigeria’s democratic future post-2019.




Global Anti-Money Laundering Regulation


Book Description

This book explores the politics of money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) regulation in several countries across Africa and the Small Island States. Developed countries created the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to combat ML/TF globally. Expectedly, the FATF’s standards mirror existing banking regulations within the G7 countries. Yet, the standards apply to all countries irrespective of the limited ML/TF risks they pose to the global economy, their weak pre-conditions for effective regulation and their non-involvement in the FATF’s framing. Still, such countries, mainly within the Global South, have worked hard to amplify their compliance with the regime due to fears of the repercussions of their non-compliance. This collection demonstrates how the global ML/TF regulation is treated as an implicitly superior legal regime where the Global South must comply irrespective of their perception of the FATF’s legitimacy challenges. It shows that beyond exogenous factors such as neo-colonialism, endogenous factors such as weak institutions and corruption undermine the compliance trajectory of the Global South. Furthermore, it analyses the unintended consequences of transplanting FATF standards into diverse legal and cultural contexts. The volume contributes to our understanding of the challenges of transplantation from the Global North and how the Global South is steering within the constraints created by the FATF. It advocates for a comprehensive understanding of the nuanced compliance challenges of developing countries. It further proposes practical solutions to address them, emphasizing the importance of risk-based understanding, accountability, capacity-building and coordination in achieving effective anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures. The collection will be essential reading for researchers, academics and policy-makers working in financial crime regulation and international economic law.