Money laundering is the process of masking the origins of unlawfully obtained funds so that they look to have come from legitimate sources.
Emerging technologies contribute to money laundering in following ways:
1. Use of Crypto currency as central banks are unable to trace its circulation.
2. Conversations that are encrypted make it easier to share information concerning money laundering.
3. The structured portions of layered money are hidden behind a large number of digital transactions on online marketplaces.
Globalization contributes to money laundering in following ways:
1. Easy movement of money makes it difficult to trace.
2. The deeper dirty money gets into the international banking system, the more difficult it is to identify its origin.
3. Rise of Tax-free nations like Cayman Island, Panama, helps in tax evasion.
National and international measures have been enacted to tackle money laundering:
1. Legal Framework:
● Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), criminalizes money laundering as a cognizable, non-bailable offense.
● The Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976 and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 provides for the penalty of property derived from smuggling or illegal traffic in narcotic drugs.
2. Institutional Framework:
● Financial Intelligence Unit: India (FIU-IND) coordinates efforts of national and international intelligence.
● RBI regulations and KYC norms issued from time to time.
● Financial action task force (FATF) sets standards and promotes effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures against money laundering; terror financing.