Forensic Accounting and Transnational Organised Financial Crime

Una fuente de inteligencia que participa directamente en las indagaciones reveló que los primeros indicios establecen que existe un alto porcentaje de participación de policías en esta red de criminalidad organizada.
Este hecho cobra relevancia luego que la Agencia Técnica de Investigación Criminal (Atic) estableció la participación del excomisario álvaro Ernesto García, exjefe de la Unidad de Pandillas de la desaparecida Dirección Nacional de Investigación Criminal (DNIC), en la estructura de la mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) dedicada al cobro de la extorsión, sicariato y otros delitos.

Technology is constantly evolving, and cybercrime has become one of the best tools for criminal organizations to earn a living and make millions of euros. Cybercrime has become a lucrative, profitable business and the use of money mules has been vital to this success. This thesis focuses on how the money mule phenomenon works in the Netherlands and the logic behind such recruitment. This research thus aims to answer the following question: How are money mules recruited and used in the Netherlands, and which characteristics make an individual vulnerable to money mule recruitment? This thesis has identified the rudimentary relationship between a money mule and a cybercriminal as follows: the cybercriminal needs the money mule in order to launder money and remain anonymous. This study has also identified two primary forms of recruitment: face-to-face and online job scams, with face-to-face recruitment being the most common form in the Netherlands. The results of this thesis show that financial strain, rationalization about recruitment, and social networks play essential roles in making an individual susceptible to money mule recruitment. Furthermore, depending on the method of recruitment, there are two kinds of money mules: those who are aware of their illicit behavior, and those who are not.

This This paper attempts to reconstruct and achieve learning from the mega financial crime that occurred at Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) during the global crisis and juxtapose it with fraudulent practices from a global perspective with the aim to acquire a broader knowledge on fraud, especially in shariah-based organizations. Thus, this paper could conceivably contribute to the rarely covered topic concerning financial crimes within Islamic organizations. Additionally, descriptive, comparative, and analytical research are exerted in this study. As for the findings, the scandal divulged that the significant power of the government exercised through mandating faith-based banking and acquiring major shareholding does not seem to prevent white-collar frauds much to the outrage of civilized lawmakers. This implies that just like its conventional counterpart, Islamic banking is not immune to fraud. In addition, the paper highlights that the most offensive misconducts found in the case are: i) the fraudulent activities were concealed or kept in secrecy; ii) there was a lack of 'shoulder to shoulder' knowledgeable people to oversee the risk and warning signs; and finally iii) the modus operandi employed was collaborating. Accordingly, the study refreshes and stresses to the influential characters involved, namely, respective regulators and top-level officials of the organization on the importance of robust, prudent, and sustainable practical conduct for they are the accredited people whose enforcement and in-company culture will distinguish the right from the wrong.

Financial crime is a problem of global concern. It is a major concern to developing nations of the world and Cameroon in particular. It is so endemic that financial crimes and corruption are gradually becoming a normal way of life in third world countries, that’s why it is very vital for a forensic accountant to be employed in every organization especially as part of an audit team in order to help keep checks of financial crimes. Financial crimes are so common that almost no individual can wash his or her hands clean of it. It’s worth mentioning that No money is entirely free every amount of money has its legal use, and consequently, misuse of any amount would have some negative effects, that’s why it is very vital for forensic m in order to help keep checks of financial crimes. The principal objective of this research work is to analyze the role of forensic accounting as a tool in fighting financial crimes in Cameroon which has a positively relationship as seen in page 61. The data collection was done randomly through the use of questionnaires to some five services provider organization in Douala Cameroon. Data collected were analyzed using a logit model and correlation analysis. Results from the data analysis reveal that Forensic accounting has a significant impact on fighting financial crimes in Cameroon

El presente trabajo expone que, el estado de emergencia mundial causado por la aparición del COVID-19 ha sido el escenario utilizado por grupos organizados trasnacionales para maximizar sus ganancias ilícitas. Si bien, en ese tiempo se incrementaron las pesquisas vinculadas al contrabando de fósiles, piezas arqueológicas y bienes culturales en general; lo cierto es que también se multiplicaron significativamente las maniobras relacionadas al tráfico de insumos médicos y medicamentos falsificados. Ello, cobra especial relevancia toda vez que, usaron el contexto pandémico como catapulta para obtener beneficios económicos en detrimento de la historia y salud de la comunidad global. En ese orden, se analizará desde el aspecto criminológico, el abordaje de las referidas conductas ilícitas y su consecuente vulneración absoluta de los Derechos Humanos y el Desarrollo Sostenible. Por último, se expondrá la importancia de focalizar estas investigaciones de delitos complejos en el aspecto económico y financiero puesto que se trata de crímenes que implican flujos financieros ilícitos.

Reviews Sri Lanka’s long past encounters with terrorism, including the suicide bombing of 1996 which killed thousands and left the economy in a shambles. Outlines the Sri Lankan Code of Criminal Procedure, concluding that it falls far short of UK law in preventing terrorist financiers enjoy the profits of their crimes. Moves on to civil enforcement; Sri Lankan Common Law

The ever-increasing incidence of fraud has raised concerns about the kind of accounting education provided to students all over the world. The importance of forensic accounting as a discipline aimed at helping organizations to detect and prevent fraud has necessitated its inclusion in accounting curriculum of universities to train more capable accountants. This study seeks to examine the awareness of international postgraduate students on forensic accounting as a tool to aid in fraud detection and prevention. A questionnaire was administered with 156 international postgraduate accounting and finance students from 24 different countries studying in universities in China. The results show that there is a very low level of awareness on forensic accounting among international postgraduate students studying in Chinese universities. The findings also indicate the lack of improved forensic accounting integration into the educational curriculum of the universities that the participants pursued their previous accounting degrees. The study recommends that Chinese universities integrate forensic accounting into their accounting curriculum especially at the postgraduate level to introduce students to the emerging discipline. The universities should also mount specialized forensic accounting programs as obtained in most universities in the US to bridge the gap created as a result of lack of awareness among international students, especially from Asia and Africa. This will go a long way to mitigate possible fraud that may arise as a result of investment in the global economy through the Belt and Roads Initiative of China.

The effect of money laundering in frustrating legitimate business, and in corrupting the financial and socio political system should not be taken for granted. It is against this backdrop that this study seeks to examine the economic implication of money laundering in Nigeria. The accidental sampling method was used in the selection of 635 persons out of which 624 representing 98.27% of the sampled persons completely filled and returned the questionnaires administered to them. Data collected were analyzed using the simple percentages method, the first hypothesis was tested using the chi-square test and it was found that money laundering do have significant effect on Nigeria's economy with f-ratio of 476.163> f-critical of 12.592 at 0.05 level of significance with 6 degree of freedom, thus, the null hypothesis was rejected and the alternative was accepted. The ANOVA test on the second hypothesis confirms that Anti Money Laundering policies in Nigeria has not significantly reduce money laundering in Nigeria with f-ratio of 2.685 < f-critical of 5.987 at 0.05 level of significance with 1 to 6 degree of freedom, thus, the null hypothesis was accepted. The study recommends more effective coordination of all institutions on the fight against money laundering by the EFCC, and a full, effective and efficient investigation of corruption reports by the ICPC.

The Study analysed the problems of Forensic Accounting (FA) practice in Nigeria, appraised the perception of DMBs' staff on what fraud portends for the Nigerian Banking Industry and their future, and examined the effect of FA on Fraud Detection (FD) in DMBs in Nigeria. Primary data with the aid of structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents. Sample size consists of 4 staff each from 10 banks out of the 22 banks in Nigeria and 40 forensic accountants purposively selected. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used. SPSS version 23 was used to examine the relationship between FA and FD in DMBs. The study reveals that fear of possible bad publicity for organisations during litigation on fraud matters among other factors associated with problems of FA practice in Nigeria. It also finds out that fraud could erode investors' confidence in the industry and could lead to loss of employment, among others. The multiple regression analysis results show a positive nexus between FA through its proxies and FD in DMBs. The study recommends among others of the need for the establishment of FA unit in DMBs for timely combat of frauds in the industry.

The text summarises theoretical legal researches on the compliance norms produced by international corporations and is based on examples from the banking sector. The methodology applied during the researches combined a critical analysis of the legal, economic, financial and management literature as well as authentic banking documentation related to the compliance norms. In addition to that, information and conclusions included in this dissertation are the result of an engaged observation of the author who for over a dozen years had been responsible for legal and compliance matters in international banks. The researches relate to compliance norms that have been created in international banks since the beginning of the 21st century.
As a starting point for the researches was an observation of the growing activeness of international corporations and the banks in particular, in the field of creating norms regulating their business activities. It has been demonstrated within this dissertation how the substance and the scope of those norms exceeds the subject of external norms compliance. Compliance norms in banks nowadays are not only the extensive autonomic axio-normative systems to assure legal and compliant way of operating by the banks but also supporting tools to achieve desired perception and economic goals.
The text describes the importance of the groups of norms created by corporations in parallel to the public systems of norms for the general Coherence of the entire normative system. It has also been an opportunity to systemise and to present the tasks, the role and the structure of compliance units in banks. Thanks to that it was possible to list and to describe compliance norms created in banks. International operations of the major banking groups and, by definition, the global reach of their operations made it necessary to look at the cultural legal differences that have impact on creation, application and interpretation of compliance norms in the same banks. As a result of the comparative studies, the text presents systemised and terminologically ordered conclusions relating to banking compliance norms.
There are various approaches to compliance obligations that depend on specificities of particular corporations that result from different legal and cultural environments, expectations of stakeholders, short- and long-term political agendas of the States as well as the decisions of the Regulators responsible for the stability of the financial system. None of those approaches dominates the other, none of them is right. All of them however are reactive in the sense that they are the responses to their own problems or fines, or in better cases they are responses to the problems and fines of their competitors. Regardless of the existing differences their common feature is their growing importance the complex multipolar and ubiquitous normative reality of the contemporary societies.

Poslovne knjige, odnosno finansijski izveštaji, kao krajnji produkt računovodstva poslovnih subjekata, imaju za cilj da njihovim korisnicima pruže pouzdan informacioni izvor o ekonomskim resursima, finansijskom položaju, rezultatu (uspehu) poslovanja, tokovima i stanju novčanih sredstava tih subjekata. U praksi vrlo često dolazi do manipulisanja računovodstvenim informacijama i kršenja zakonskih propisa i profesionalne regulative u svrhu postizanja različitih ciljeva, kao što je prikazivanje lošijeg finansijskog rezulta zbog poreske evazije ili prikazivanje boljeg rezultata od ostvarenog radi ostvarenja bonusa ili vrednovanja imovine po vrednosti većoj od realne što može dovesti do neosnovanog odobrenja kredita privrednom društvu. Negativne posledice finansijskih prevara i malverzacija koje snose investitori i ostali korisnici finansijskih izveštaja, nametnule su potrebu za razvojem nove grane računovodstva, tj. finansijskog računovodstva čiji je glavni zadatak otkrivanje i sprečavanje prevara u finansijskim izveštajima. S tim u vezi, u radu je definisa pojam forenzičkog računovodstva, predstavljeni su ciljevi i zadaci forenzičkog računovodstva, kao i uloga i aktivnosti forenzičkog računovođe u pogledu istraživanja sumnjivih transakcija i otkrivanju prevara u finansijskim izveštajima.

Ključne reči: forenzika, forenzičko računovodstvo, veštačenje, poslovne knjige.

FORENSIC-ACCOUNTING EXPERTIZE OF BUSINESS BOOKS

Abstract: Business books or financial statements, as the final product of accounting subjects, aim to provide their customers a reliable source of information about economic resources, financial position, results (success) business flows and the balance of cash these entities. In practice, very often there is a manipulation of accounting information and violations of the law and professional regulations in order to achieve various objectives, such as showing poor financial results due to tax evasion or showing better results than achieved in order to achieve bonuses or valuation of assets for price higher than the real which may lead to unfounded loan approval for business company. The negative consequences of financial fraud and embezzlement brook by investors and other users of financial statements, have imposed the need to develop a new branch of accounting, ie. financial accounting, whose main task is to detect and prevent fraud in the financial statements. In this regard, the paper defines the term forensic accounting, presented the objectives and tasks of forensic accounting, as well as the role and activities of forensic accountants concerning the investigation of suspicious transactions and the discovery of fraud in the financial statements.

Keywords: forensics, forensic accounting, expert, business books.

This is a proof copy of an article published in the Journal of Financial Crime Vol. 10 No. 4 dealing with the question of how to make crime unprofitable by blocking the process of converting the profits of crime to what looks like legitiate funds. The article was written four years prior to the enactment by the Parliament of Sri Lanka of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act No. 5 of 2006, but the article makes provision to the bill that was at that time before the Legal Draftsman. The focus of the article was on the criminal and civil measures then in place in Sri Lanka to deal with money launderisng, and some of the points made can be useful even after the enactment of the 2006 Act

This paper attempts to reconstruct and achieve learning from the mega financial crime that occurred at Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) during the global crisis and juxtapose it with fraudulent practices from a global perspective with the aim to acquire a broader knowledge on fraud, especially in shariah-based organizations. Thus, this paper could conceivably contribute to the rarely covered topic concerning financial crimes within Islamic organizations. Additionally, descriptive, comparative, and analytical research are exerted in this study. As for the findings, the scandal divulged that the significant power of the government exercised through mandating faith-based banking and acquiring major shareholding does not seem to prevent white-collar frauds much to the outrage of civilized lawmakers. This implies that just like its conventional counterpart, Islamic banking is not immune to fraud. In addition, the paper highlights that the most offensive misconducts found in the case are: i) the ...

Az etnikai gyűlölet, az antiszemitizmus és az emberkereskedelem a dehumanizáció virágai, legszörnyűbb gyümölcse pedig a holokauszt volt. Dolgozatomban arra vállalkozom, hogy rövid elméleti összegzést adjak a totalitárius rendszer ontológiája és az emberkereskedelem közös gyökereinek összefüggéseiről. Előfeltevésként abból a premisszából indulok ki, hogy a dehumanizáció a totális állam és az emberkereskedelem alkotóeleme, amely az ember alapvető, veleszületett szabadságának lerombolását jelenti. A dehumanizáció arra irányul, hogy az ember elveszítse eredeti létértelmét, identitását. A cselekménnyel az elkövető elsősorban magát fosztja meg az emberi attribútumoktól. Az áldozatot csak ebben a normális létből kitépett állapotban lesz képes tárgyiasítani. Az emberkereskedelem esetében a dologként kezelt áldozat csak az elkövető szempontjából veszti el emberi személyiségét, a társadalom őt bűncselekmény sértettjének tekinti. A totalitárius rendszerek és a népirtás esetében mindez egy következő szintre kerül. Az egész társadalom fanatizálódik és már nem áldozatként tekint a dehumanizált sértettre, hanem prédaként.

Estimates for the ransom payments of sea piracy off the coast of Somalia ranges between USD $5.7 and USD $ 6.1 Billion in 2012, a 14% reduction from the previous year and also as a probable result of the investment into risk mitigation, which increased by an estimated 80% and was costing the shipping companies between USD $1.15 and USD 1.53 Billion. The international military spending decreased by 14% to USD $1.09 billion.  Traditional kidnapping and ransom (K+R) itself was a USD $1.5 billion industry in 2010. 2 In traditional K+R, the most common outcome is that in 70% of the known incidents, the victim is freed against the payment of the demanded, and mostly negotiated ransom. Fewer than 10% are rescued, and fewer than 5% are killed. The remainder of the victims are released without payment of ransom, or they escape their captors.

This article presents a novel approach for detecting fraudulent behaviors from automated teller machine (ATM) usage data by analyzing geo-behavioral habits of the customers and describe the use of a fuzzy rule-based system capable of classifying suspicious and non-suspicious financial transactions. Firstly, the geographic entropies of ATM cardholders are computed from the spatio-temporal ATM transactions data to form customer classes of mobility. ATM transactions exhibit spatio-temporal properties by inclusion of location information. The transition data can be generated by using transaction data from the current location to the next one. Once, the transition data are generated, statistical outlier detection techniques can be utilized. On top of classical methods, crisp unsupervised methods can easily be used for detecting outliers in the transition data. In addition, fuzzy C-Means algorithm can be implemented to determine outliers. In this study, ATM usage dataset containing around two years' worth of data, provided by a mid-size Turkish bank was analyzed. It was shown that a significant bulk of ATM users does not leave the vicinity of their living places. Some insightful business rules that can be extracted from geo-tagged ATM transaction data by means of using a fuzzy rule-based system were also presented.

Edited by: Colin King and Clive Walker

Adopting a multi-disciplinary and comparative approach, this book focuses on the emerging and innovative aspects of attempts to target the accumulated assets of those engaged in criminal and terrorist activity, organized crime and corruption. It examines the ‘follow-the-money’ approach and explores the nature of criminal, civil and regulatory responses used to attack the financial assets of those engaged in financial crime in order to deter and disrupt future criminal activity as well as terrorism networks. With contributions from leading international academics and practitioners in the fields of law, economics, financial management, criminology, sociology and political science, the book explores law and practice in countries with significant problems and experiences, revealing new insights into these dilemmas. It also discusses the impact of the ‘follow-the-money’ approach on human rights while also assessing effectiveness.

Original link: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/Foreigninvestment. January 2021.
Dr. Remy Davison, Jean Monnet Chair in Politics & Economics, Monash University.

Overview: Foreign direct investment (FDI) both complements and competes with all public sector and private domestic investment. Collectively, all forms of investment are important components of aggregate demand. FDI boosts expenditure on capital goods and creates demand for a vast range of services. In contrast, foreign portfolio investment (FPI) injects vast pools of capital into equity and bond markets, increasing the 'wealth effect' of equity holders. Firms frequently employ FDI as a means of bypassing various behind-the-border barriers or cost impositions upon market entry and competitiveness, such as tariff barriers (TBs) and non-tariff barriers (NTBs)

An empirical test to demonstrate that the bank accounting auditing problem is widespread also in the forensic accounting "circle". A major Journal on Forensic Auditing refused a paper about an important emerging accounting problem in money creation.

Not really. In retrospect, as far as money laundering goes, September 11 may be perceived as a watershed as important as the precipitous collapse of communism in 1989. Both events have forever altered the patterns of the global flows of illicit capital.

Organized by Link Campus University in collaboration with the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, the Winter School on Terrorism Financing Identification and Prevention provides a clear understanding of how terrorism works and how terrorist groups finance their operations through different goods and activities like oil, drugs, works of art, diamonds and trafficking of human beings. Particular attention will be given to UN resolutions, international legal frameworks to counter terrorism financing, the geopolitical role of charities and Hawala. The course will also cover other topics including the international and Italian AML (Anti-Money Laundering) law, the role of Financial Intelligence Units and cryptocurrencies.

The course is in English and is open to all individuals, yet a prior subject matter knowledge is required and an advanced degree is preferred. It is particularly relevant for:
- Students and practicioners
- Individuals who want to learn about Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and its relationship with money laundering.
- MLROs (Money Laundering Reporting Officer)
- Financial Crime and Risk officers
- Anyone whose role involves managing counter terrorism financing/money laundering issues such as consultants and auditors

Ovaj rad im za cilj da ukaže na strukturu forenzičkih nauka, zbog edukaciono-didaktičkih razloga, odnosno izrade adekvatnih nastavnih planova i programa na visokoškolskim institucijama na kojima se izučavaju forenzičke nauke. Takođe, rad ima tendenciju dokazivanj da su forenzičke nauke naučna disciplina, odnosno nauka.

Artikel ini mengelaborasi peran media sosial sebagai saluran whistleblowing yang digunakan untuk mendeteksi praktik kecurangan (fraud). Meningkatnya penggunaan media sosial di berbagai aktivitas kehidupan membuat media sosial beralih menjadi saluran pertukaran dan penyebaran informasi kewargaan. Artikel ini mengelaborasi penggunaan media sosial sebagai saluran alternatif whistleblowing disamping penggunaan saluran anonim lainnya. Selama ini sistem whistleblowing diciptakan hanya melalui sarana yang terintegrasi seperti website dan aplikasi khusus. Adanya partisipasi aktif dari para warganet membuat media sosial dapat digunakan para pengungkap fakta (whistleblower) untuk melaporkan berbagai indikasi praktik kecurangan (fraud). Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif ekxplanatoris dengan teknik pengumpulan data melalui wawancara mendalam (in-dept interview). Artikel ini menyatakan bahwa media sosial telah berkontribusi positif sebagai saluran whistleblowing dalam upaya mendeteksi berbagai praktik fraud (kecurangan) di semua entitas dan sektor publik.

In the context of Peru standing as a one of the more solid
emerging economies of Latin America, Peruvian Criminal
Justice also increased its focus on tackling economic crime
as well as improving the prosecution of organized crime that
has become increasingly sophisticated over recent years.

— The Panama Papers is a collection of 11.5 million leaked records that contain information for more than 214,488 offshore entities. This collection is growing rapidly as more leaked records become available online. In this paper, we present a work in progress on a web browser plugin that detects company names from the Panama Papers and alerts the user by means of unobtrusive visual cues. We matched a random sample of company names from the Public Works and Government Services Canada registry against the Panama Papers using three different string matching techniques. Monge-Elkan is found to provide the best matching results but at increased computational cost. Levenshtein-based approach is found to provide the best tradeoff between matching and computational cost, while Jacquard index like approach is found to be less sensitive to slight textual change.

The Magnitsky Acts of the US and UK are now being considered by the Council of the European Union. A tool in fighting human rights abuses and corruption , they also need to be accompanied by sustained work against the flow of criminal money between Britain and the Indian Sub-continent.