According to the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) chief, India loses about 2 to 5% of its national GDP to financial crimes. This is caused mostly by weakness and deficiencies in the Anti-Money Laundering Framework, which also affect other nations. ACAMS’ president and managing director Rohit Sharma said it has observed globally that if there are no effective legislative, regulatory and judiciary framework to fight financial crimes, it is bound to result in deficits of public and international trust which then affect foreign investment. Panama and Mauritius have been identified as the hubs for crimes known for their secrecy and privacy laws where they don’t share information with other nations. Shell companies with no physical presence are other source. Countries like China, Bangladesh and several others in Asia which are trade-based nations also suffer money laundering. The US is also home for marijuana and illegal drugs. Globally, the issue of cryptocurrencies and crypto-assets are also beginning to show signs of money laundering. Gambling sector is not excluded, Macau (China), Singapore, Philippines and US (Vegas) where gambling casinos are common also experience financial crimes.
In attempts to combat money laundering from all these sources, many sophisticated techniques and technology are developed in order to safeguard transactions and deal with data. Several groups have also been developed to oversee international money laundering; some of which are the Canada-based Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) representing over 160 countries. FIUs is concerned with detecting patterns and providing guidance to banks on appropriate actions to take. Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is another group, based in Paris, and provides recommendations to countries on AML, CFT and proliferation.
