6a. Money laundering and financial services Flashcards
Money laundering
What are the three phases of money laundering?
- Placement
- Layering
- Integration
Money laundering
What happens during:
(1) placement
(2) layering, and
(3) integration?
- Cash generated from crime is placed in the financial system
- Origins of the proceeds of crime are obscured by passing them through complex transactions
- Funds are made to appear legitimate, by investing in businesses, etc.
Money laundering
At what stages is a solicitor most likely to become involved in money laundering?
Can passive possession of criminal property be money laundering?
Layering or integration stages
Yes
Money laundering
Although the Proceeds of Crime Act generally applies to all people, to whom are certain offences, e.g. failure to report and tipping off reserved for?
Persons engaged in activities in the regulated sector
Money laundering
What is the presumption of a predicate offence in the context of money laundering?
Is a conviction of a predicate offence required for a prosecution for a money laundering offence?
Money laundering offences presume that a criminal offence has occurred in order to generate the criminal property being laundered
No
Money laundering
Are there inchoate offences related to money laundering offences?
Yes. It is an offence to conspire or attempt to launder, and to counsel, aid, abet, or procure money laundering.
Money laundering
What are the three direct money laundering offences?
- Concealing
- Arrangement
- Acquisition, use, or possession
Money laundering
When does a person commit the offence of concealing?
When they conceal, disguise, convert, or transfer criminal property or remove it from the UK
Money laundering
What is criminal property?
Any property derived from criminal conduct, including money, real and personal property, and intangible property whether in the UK or not
Money laundering
What is the extent to which concealing or disguising applies?
What is the mental state required to commit the offence of concealing (and arrangement and acquisition)?
Concealing or disguising the property’s nature, but also its source, location, or ownership
Subjectively know or suspect that the property represents a benefit from criminal conduct
Money laundering
What are the three timings which determine the authorised disclosure defence available to a charge of concealing (and arrangement and acquisition)?
- Before concealing
- During concealing
- After concealing
Money laundering
What is the authorised disclosure defence if disclosure is made before concealing?
It is a full defence if a person makes an authorised disclosure of the act to police, customs officer, or other nominated officer within the organisation, before the act
Money laundering
What is the authorised disclosure defence if disclosure is made during concealing?
It is a full defence during the act if:
- Person had no relevant knowledge or suspicion when the act started
- Disclosure was made as soon as practicable after knowledge or suspicion; and
- Disclosure was made on the person’s own initiative (not prompted by imminent discovery/encouragement of another)
Money laundering
What is required to avail of the authorised disclosure defence if disclosure is made after concealing?
There must have been good reason why a disclosure was not made
Money laundering
Which way is the conflict between disclosure as a defence to concealing and the duty of confidentiality resolved?
In what instance can a solicitor be excused from disclosing in the context of concealing?
Disclosure is an exception to the general duty of confidentiality
Where legal professional privilege applies
Money laundering
In what situation could a solicitor not rely on legal professional privilege in the context of concealing?
Where the solicitor knows the transaction they are working on is a money laundering offence, or they suspect it and their suspicions are true.
Therefore, the offence can be committed by suspecting or knowing, but where LPP applies, the solicitor must know in order to lose the privilege, or suspect it and be right in the facts.
Money laundering
When does a person commit the offence of arrangement?
What are the defences to arrangement?
When they know or suspect what they are doing facilitates the acquisition, retention, use, or control of criminal property by or on behalf of another person
The same disclosure defence as concealing
Money laundering
When does a person commit the offence of acquisition?
When they acquire, use, or possess criminal property
Money laundering
In the context of acquisition, what is possession?
What are the defences to acquisition?
Physical custody
The same disclosure defence as concealing and arrangement, plus one additional defence
Money laundering
What is the additional defence to acquisition?
If the criminal property was acquired, used, or possessed for adequate consideration, and they did not know or suspect it was criminal property
Deefence not available if the accused knows or suspects that the consideration may help another to carry out criminal conduct
Money laundering
What are the three indirect money laundering offences?
- Failure to report
- Tipping off
- Prejudicing an investigation
Money laundering
When does a person commit the offence of failure to report?
When they suspect, know about, or should have suspected or known about money laundering and/or terrorist financing and do not make a suspicious activity report
Money laundering
What is the scope of information which must be reported?
Within what timescale must the solicitor make their report, and what is one acceptable reason for delaying?
Anything coming the the solicitor in the course of business, and not just relating to their clients/matters
As soon as practicable. Delay may be excused if the reason is legal advice is being sought, provided action is still prompt.
Money laundering
What are some available defences to failure to report?
- The information falls within a privilege not excluded by AML laws
- Information came to solicitor from a client (a) in connection with giving of legal advice to the client or (b) seeking legal advice
Money laundering
What is the lack of training defence to failure to report?
Who is liable for failure to train staff?
Employees in firms who have no knowledge or suspicion of money laundering, even though they should, have a defence if they have not received training
The firm’s partners are liable for breach of the Regulations
Money laundering
What are the two ways the offence of tipping off can be committed?
Does tipping off have to be in writing and direct?
- Disclosing to a third person that a suspicious activity report has been made if that disclosure might prejudice any investigations
- Disclosing an investigation to a third person
Tipping off can be in writing, oral, or by conduct (e.g. waiting too long or wanting to delay and making a person suspicious), and it can be direct or indirect
Money laundering
What are the four defences to tipping off?
- Disclosures within an undertaking or group
- Disclosures between lawyers
- Disclosures to supervisory bodies
- Disclosures by professional advisors to the suspect client for offence abatement