GROUP 3
PHASE 1ANALYSIS OF CURRENT SITUATION
OF MONEY LAUNDERING
Chairperson

Mr. Shankar Pratap Singh(India)Co-Chairperson

Mr. Masakazu Ameku(Japan)Rapporteur

Mr. Jan Samuel Maringka(Indonesia)

Co-Rapporteur

Mr. Oscar Antonio Goyanes(Argentina)

Members

Mr. Sazali bin Salbi(Malaysia)

Mr. Tsunekazu Kobashi(Japan)Ms. Azumi Misawa(Japan)Mr. Rafael Romero(Venezuela)

Mr. Taizo Yokoyama(Japan)Deputy Director Keiichi Aizawa(UNAFEI)

Prof. Yuichiro Tachi(UNAFEI)

Prof. Kenji Teramura(UNAFEI)

Advisers

I. A BRIEF OVERVIEW
M o n e y l a u n d e r i n g b r ie f ly m e a n s“making dirty money look clean.” It canbe defined as, “the processing of thecriminal proceeds to conceal their illegalo rig in.” T he ob j ec tive o f the m o ne ylaunderer is to disguise the illicit origin of
substantial profits generated by criminal
activity, so that such profits could be used
as if they were derived from a legitimate
source.
Money laundering is at the center of all
c r im in a l a ct ivi ty , b e ca us e i t is th ecommon denominator of predominantly
all other criminal acts. Since it cannot bedisassociated from other forms of crime,
money laundering becomes an integral
pa rt o f any tra nsna ti ona l orga nize dc r i m e . T h e tr a n s n a t io n a l c r im i n a lorganizations have resorted to money
laundering in different countries in aneffort to legitimize the proceeds of crime.

It needs to be emphasized that money
la u n d e r in g is n o t a n e w e c o n o m ic ,sociological or legal problem. However,geo-political developments over the lastfew decades, together with increased
economic globalization have resulted inincreased international movement ofmoney. The rapid expansion ofinternational financial activity has gone
hand in hand with the development oftransnational organized crime, whichtakes advantage of political borders andexploits the differences between the legal
systems in order to maximize profits. The
organized criminal groups involved are
genuinely multinational and pose a very
serious threat to the financial stability of
all economic systems viz, theunderdeveloped, the developing and also
the highly developed nations of the world.
The extent of money laundering isdifficult to estimate since it is an illegal
ac tiv ity f o r w hic h no e xa ct d a ta o r

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
statistics are available. However, theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) has
estimated that the aggregate size ofmoney laundering in the world could besomewhere between two to five percent of
the world’s gross domestic product (GDP).
U sing 1996 statistics, this would
translate into approximately US $590
billion to US $1.5 trillion, which reflects
the magnitude of the problem.
In view of the fact, that the goal of the
predominant majority of the criminal acts
is to generate profits for the individual or
the group which carries out the criminalact, the process of the criminal proceeds
to disguise their illegal origin becomes
essential. It enables the criminal to enjoy
the profits derived from crime without
jeo pard iz ing the ir source. S ince theactivities of organized crime, including
drug trafficking, trafficking in illegal
firearms, smuggling, prostitution, etc.,
can generate huge amounts of money,
they create an incentive to “legitimize”
t he il l-g o tte n gain s thr ou gh m o ne ylaund e ring. Whe n c riminal ac tivity
g en er ates su bstantial pr ofits, th e
individuals or groups involved must finda w a y t o co n tro l t he f u nd s w ith o ut
attracting attention to the underlying
criminal activity or the persons involved.
C riminals do this by d isguising thesources, changing the form or moving thefunds to a place where they are less likely
to attract attention.
Ex pe rien ce in dif fe re nt c oun triess h o w s t h a t th e g e n e r a l t e c h ni q u e s
e mployed to launde r mone y are as
follows:(i)

investing dirty money in legitimateb usiness either through shell or
fictitious companies or in genuine
companies under a false identity;(ii) acquisition of assets by paying therequisite taxes;

626(iii) deposit of money in tax heavens or inbanks in non-cooperative countries
and remittances back to the hostcountry through normal banking
channels;(iv) use of the underground banking
channels for transfer of money;(v) over invoicing of goods in an
apparently normal exports business
transaction;(vi) routing of money through safe tax
heaven countries.
Experience further discloses that amoney laundering operation basicallyconsists of three phases or stages. The
first phase is the “placement”, i.e. where
cash enters the financial system. The
second phase consists of “layering”, i.e.
where the money is routed through a
num b er o f t ra ns a cti on s s o t ha t an y
attempt to trace the origin of money islost. The last or the third phase consistsof “integration”, i.e. the money is broughtback into the eco nomy with thea pp e a ra nc e of l egit i m a cy a nd t hus,
integrated within the lawful economy
leaving no trace of the illegal money tothe various law enforcement agencies ofthe different countries.
II. GLOBAL CONCERN
Realizing the gravity of the problem,
the United Nations (UN) adopted theVienna Convention, 1988 against theIllicit Traffic in Narcotics, Drugs, andPsychotropic substances which, interalia, incorporated incrimination of money
laundering in an international treaty forthe first time.
T he F in a n cia l A ct io n T a s k F o r ce
(FATF) was founded in 1989 by the G7
summit in Paris, to examine methods tocombat money laundering. It publishedits report in 1990, in which the Forty
Recommendations were made to combat

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE
the menace of money laundering. The UN
saw it’s convention against Transnational
Organized Crime adopted in November
2000 and this was opened for signatureby member states in December 2000. It
requires member countries to further
intensify and fortify their efforts againstmoney laundering.
The above convention suggests a seriesof measures to combat the evil of money
laundering, including attempts to define
the definition and scope of the subject
incorporated in Article 6 and 7.
III. LEGISLATIONThe current situation with regard tomoney laundering, as it presently exists
in the mem ber countries of theparticipants attending the course, is very
briefly summarized as follows:
In Japan, in order to enforce the UN
Convention Against Illicit Traffic in
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotrop ic
Substances, which was adopted in 1988
a t t h e U N D r u g C o m m it te e T r e a ty
C onference,
and
the
Forty
Recommendations suggested by FATF in
1 9 9 0 , t he “ L a w C o nc er nin g S p e ci a l
Provisions for the Narcotic andPsychotropic Control Law, etc., and Other
Matters for the Prevention of Activities
Encouraging Illicit Conducts and Other
A ctivities Involving Controlle d
S u b s ta n c e s T h r o u gh I n te r n a ti o n a l
Cooperation” (hereinafter, the Special
Narcotics Law) was concluded on October
2, 1991 and enforced from July 1, 1992.
Furtherm ore, the “Law for the
Punishment of Organized Crime and the
C ontrol of Criminal Earnings”(hereinafter, the Law for the Punishmentof Organized Crimes) was concluded on
A ugus t 12 , 1 99 9, and enforced fromFebru ary 1, 20 00, after t he Forty

R e co m m e n d a tio n s w e r e m a d e m or ecomprehensive.
This law widens the predicate offenses
a nd p ro vid es the p ro visio ns fo r thelaundering of illicit proceeds generated
from not only drug-related crimes but
also other major offenses which have notbeen covered under the Special Narcotics
Law.
The Special Narcotics Law and theLaw for the Punishment of Organized
Crimes include the following features:
1. Provisions concerning punishments
for money laundering and thedisposal of illicit proceeds generated
from crimes;
2. Confiscation of intangible property
such as bank accounts;
3. A system to secure the subject
property so as to ensure forfeiture andcollection of equivalent value;
4. Cooperation in conducting confiscation trials in foreign countries;
5. Provisions requiring financial institutions to report suspicious transactions, as countermeasures againstmoney laundering of illicit proceeds
generated from crimes.
In Malaysia, before the introduction of
the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2001, thecountry did not have any specific law onmoney laundering. However there arevarious substantive laws making it an
o f f en c e f o r ‘la un d e ri ng ’ o f ille g a lly
obtained money or assets. One of themost effective le gislation is theDangerous Drug (Forfeiture of Property)
Act 1988 (the FOP Act). Drug abuse anddrug trafficking is regarded as the most
severe and grave crime in Malaysia since1983.The government of Malaysia feltthat individua ls or groups of peop leinvolved in this criminal activity should
not be allowed to enjoy the benefit of their627

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
ill-gotten gains. Although there is no
definition or usage of the term “money
laundering” under the FOP, but there is ap ro visio n which state s that it is anoffence for any person either by himself or
on behalf of another, to commit the act oflaundering of illegally obtained property.
One very important legislation whichis related to money laundering activities
is the Anti-Corruption Act 1997. Under
this legislation, o fficers of theenforcement agency, that is the AntiCorruption Agency, have been given thep owe rs, either directly or indirectly
through the Public Prosecutor or theHigh Court, to act in relation to any
dealing in property (laundering), seizure
a nd forfeiture of property which are
regarded as proceeds from corruption
offences.
Another country in the Asia region,
Indonesia, also pays serious attention tothis ma tter. The G overnment of the
Republic of Indonesia is truly concernedr e g a r d in g m o ne y l a u n d e ri n g, a s isreflected by its ratification of some of thefollowing im portant conventions
connected with Money Laundering, suchas:
1. Ratification
ofConventionon
Psychotropic Substances 1971 (byLaw No. 8 Year 1996);
2. Ratificationof United
Nations
Convention Against Illicit Traffic andPsychotropic Substances (by Law No.
7 Year 1997).
The draft of the Anti-Money
Laundering Act is still at the discussion
stage in the legislature but implicitly
a lready exists in The Criminal Code
Article 39, 480 and 481 and within Draft
of Criminal Code Revision chapter 601
and 604 which generally puts restriction
on anyone who possesses, saves,628

transfers, invests, pays, buys, deposits
suspicious crime-resulted funds and its
violation could result in imprisonment
and fines.
In Thailand, the Money Laundering
Control Act BE 2542 (1999) was
introduced with the setting up of the
Office of Anti-money Laundering by theGovernment of Thailand. During the first
9 m o n th s o f it e x is t e n c e t h e o f f i c emanaged to confiscate a total of morethan 240 million bahts. Under the above
Act, financial institutions are required toreport every transaction of the amountexceeding 2 million bahts to the Office ofAnti-money Laundering for investigation.
The office also has the power to gather
evidence for the purpose of taking legal
pr oce e ding a ga in st the o ff en de rs of
predicate offence, which are:
1.
2.
3.
4.

relating to narcotics;
relating to sexuality;
relating to public fraud;
relating to misappropriation or fraud
or exertion of an act of violent against
property or dishonest conduct;
5. of malfeasance in office or judicial
office;6. relating to extortion or blackmail byclaiming an inf luence of a secretsociety or criminal association;
7. relating to smuggling under thecustom law.
In N epal, the extent of money
laundering is very difficult to estimate. It
is an illegal act for which no statistics areavailable.
In India, money laundering is indulged
in both by businessman and corporate
business houses to evade taxes as well as
by the orga niz ed crim inal groups tolaunder dirty money. Money laundering
techniques include sm uggling,e s t a b li s h m e n t o f f r o n t c o m p a n i e s ,119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE
a c q u i si t io n o f c o m m e r c i a l a nd n o n
co m me rcia l pro pe rties, rem ittanc es
through Hawala or Hundi. Over invoicing
and double invoicing of goods throughforeign remittances and through tradingin stock and shares.
T h e I n d ia n “H a w a l a ” o r “H u n di ”
system of transaction can be explained astransfer of money through unofficial andnon banking channels. The money sotransferred often includes the moneyd e r iv e d f r o m cr im ina l ac ti vi tie s inviolation of the country’s legislation. As adeveloping nation, India feels seriously
concerned because Hawala transactions
not only undermine the nation’s economy,
but also seriously jeopardizes th ecountry’s security through terrorist andsubversive activities which are often
funded from the proceeds of illegal drugs
and arms trafficking.
It needs to be emphasized, that at
p r e se n t t h e r e is n o s p e c if ic m o n e ylaundering law in operation in India. A
bill to enact the money laundering act“The prevention of Money LaunderingBill” has been introduced in Parliamentby the Government of India but the same
still r em a ins to be e nacte d as L a w.
However, at present there is already a setof legislation existing in India intended todeal with the economic offenders. Suchlaws/legislation are specifically intended
to deprive the offenders of the proceeds
and benefits deprived from thecommission of offences against the laws of
the country.
Besides, such legislation also provides
for the confiscation or forfeiture of theproceeds or assets of certain crimes.
These include:(i)

Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance,
1944(ii) Customs Act, 1962(iii) Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973(iv) Smugglers and Foreign Exchange
Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property)
Act, 1976(v) Narcotic drugs & Psychotropic
Substance Act, 1985(vi) In addition, Indian Statutes also
p r ov ide p re ve ntive d ete nt ion o fforeign exchange racketeers under
the conservation of foreign exchange
and prevention of smuggling
activities (COFEPOSA) Act, 1974(vii) And the preventive detention of drugtraffickers under the prevention of
Illicit traffic in Narcotic drugs andpsychotropic substances (PITNDPS),
Act 1988.
In Argentina, the new legislation (Lawenacted on March 5, 200 0) considers
money laundering as an autonomous
crime. It means that the laundering ofassets is not only penalized when it isobtained from the traffic of narcotics, butalso includes other illegal activities suchas terrorism, traffic of weapons, of humanbeings or other human organs, crimes
against the Public Administration, andsuch other offences where the Penal Codeprovides punishment with a minimum of
3 years in jail. The same law includes theobligation on the part of certain people,
that the text specifically mentions, ofdenouncing operations and/or suspicious
activities.
In Venezuela, the anti drugs law wasenacted and made more comprehensive
on September 30, 1993. This law wasmade to adapt to the current problem
relating to drugs and it includes theprocedure in cases of money laundering,
their prevention, control and inspection of
the bank and financial entities by theauthorities. With this enactment of theanti-drug la w a ll of those that havebenefited from drug trafficking and othercrimes are pen alized. Besides the629

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
trafficker, it also penalizes the persons
that direct the operation, who finance itand those who facilitate the traffic ofdrugs in any way. The reform was madeto article 37 which now penalizes
laundering.
The Venezuelan national assembly has
also discussed the future enactment of alaw that would fight against organizedcrime. The police, w ho can carry out
op erations as hidden agents, caninvestigate the laundering of money andthe tra ffic of drugs. E qually, it a lso
i m p o se s o n b a nk s t he o b lig a ti on o f
informing the authorities when there iss usp i cio n o f a n o p e r a tio n o f m o ne ylaundering. The punishment for thecrime of money laundering isimprisonment between 15 and 25 years.
An anti-corruption law that penalizes theoffences relating to public officials has
also been provided in Venezuela.
In Peru, the Law only punishes money
laundering when it emanates from theillicit trafficking of drugs. When them oney re la tes to othe r o ffences like
corruption, fraud, kidnapping, robbery,etc. it is not covered by money
laundering. Thus, in Peru, the activity ofmoney laundering is confined only to thecase where drug money is involved. It isa lso inco rp orated b y la w (ordinancelegislative) of April 10, 1992, that banks
report any unusual or suspicioustransaction above ten thousand dollars to
the authorities in each case.
Money laundering in Honduras is only
related to drug trafficking. Before 1993
the money laundering law did not exist. It
was only mentioned in one article of the
drug law. Since 1998 the money
laundering law has been enacted, but ito nly re la tes to d rugs. H owe ver, theattorneys that deal with the said crime
are working on some reforms in the law.

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They are trying to establish a money
laundering law related a lso to othercrimes such as stolen vehicles,
kidnappings, bank robberies, humantrafficking etc.
Uganda is a developing country with alo w e co n o m ic b a se . B e c a us e o f th iscriminals finds it easy to invest theirp r o c e e d s f r o m i l le g a l a c t i v i t ie s i n
Uganda. Since the government needs
investors to uplift the economy, little
scrutiny is done to establish the origin ofhuge amounts of money. Currently, there
is no legislation in place to cater to moneyla un d e r in g . T hi s i s a n e w c o n c e p t.
However, there is an anti-money
laund er ing c om m ittee con sisting o f
e x p e r ts f r o m t h e U g a n d a R e v e n u eAuthority, police, immigration,commercial banks and Bank of Uganda.
The committee is charged with drafting alaw on money laundering. In East Africa,
a training workshop on combating money
laundering was held in Arusha, Tanzania
in A u g u s t 1 9 9 9 a n d h a s l e d t o t h e
c r e a t i o n o f a N a t io na l A n t i- M o n e yLaundering Committee, which areaffiliates of the Eastern and Southern
Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group(E.A.S.A.A.M.L.G.).
IV. INSTITUTION OF STRs/FIUs
A s f ar as Jap an is concerned, theSuspicious Transaction Report (STR)
system was first introduced into
Japanese legislation by the enactment of
the Special Narcotics Law. Subsequent tothis, the La w for the Punishment ofOrganized Crimes was enacted in 2000,
which introduced a comprehensive STR
system. The scope of predicate offenses ofm on ey la und e ring wa s ex pa nd e d toalmost all organized crimes. Based on theabove law, the Japan Financial
Intelligence Office (JAFIO) wasestablished in the Financial Agency as

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE
the Japanese Financial Intelligence Unit
(FIU).
At present, depository institutions(banks), insurance companies, securities
brokers and other non-bank financial
institutions are co vere d in the STR
system. However, non-financial
institutions or other relevant
professionals (so-called “gatekeepers”)
are not covered. Compliance by financial
institutions is mandatory but no legal
sanction is provided for non-disclosure of
STRs.
The records of the Narcotics Division of
the Malaysia Police Department revealthat the traf fickers in M a la ysia aremostly individuals or small groups who
capitalize on drug trafficking industry for
personal gains. Drug pro ceeds are
sometimes concealed within theproximity of their home or invested inother illegal activities such as loansharking and book markings.
Taking into consideration the Forty
Recommendations of the FATF on money
laundering, the government of Malaysia
in the middle of the year 2001 introduced
the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2001. It
is hoped that the law, with 199 serious
o ff ence s including d rug tra ff icking,corruption, kidnapping, robbery, humantrafficking, gambling and fraud, will
provide a strong foundation in countering
money laundering in or outside Malaysia.
In Indonesia, the Criminal Proceeding
Act, 1981 provides that Investigators
shall be:a. an official of the state police of the
Republic of Indonesia;
b. a certain official of the civil service
who is granted special authority bylaw.

Referring to this statement, inpractice, the police official is aninvestigator for general crimes such as
murder, theft, robbery and so forth. A
public prosecutor is also authorized to be
the investigator for special crimes such as
corruption cases.
In cor ruption ca se s, the A tto rney
General’s Office has successfully handled
a lot of corruption cases, and saved alarge amount of the state’s assets.
In India, a number of law enforcement
agencies (primarily operating under the
Ministry of Fina nce , Go vernment of
I n d ia ) a r e e n g a g e d i n c o ll e c ti o n o f
intelligence and also investigation of
economic offences and frauds, including
money laundering. Some of theprominent agencies are as follows:(i)

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence(DRI)(ii) The Directorate of Enforcement(iii) The Economic Intelligence Bureau(EIB)(iv) The Central Board of Direct Taxes(CBDT)(v) The Central Board of Excise &Customs (CBEC)In addition to the ab ove a gencies,
functioning directly under the Ministry of
Finance, the Government of India, theEconomic Offences Wing (EOW) of thepremier police investigating agency in thecou ntry, vi z, the C e ntra l B ure a u o fInvestigation (CBI) also specializes inhandling complex investigations relating
to economic and financial frauds,
including money laundering.
Argentina contemplates setting up a
Commission for dealing with activities
relating to money laundering (Unidad deInfo rma ción F ina nciera — U .F.I . —Financial Information Unit). U.F.I. forces

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
c e r t a in p e o p le a n d c o r p o r a t io ns o r
companies to inform of diverse data thatlooks suspicious. The promulgation ofthis Law has proved to be very significant
for Argentina, which has incorporated
most of the Forty Recommendations of
the FATF.
I n V en ez uel a , t he p e n a l a ctio n is
carried out by the District Attorney (D.A.)
of the Public Ministry and it is the D.A.
w ho directs the investigation, giving
instructions to the Police in relation to
the investigation of the crimes. Since theabove law is not as yet approved by the
National Assembly, Venezuela does not
yet have a legislative instrument toc om bat mo ne y laundering and thecriminal organizations involved.
V. PROFILE OF MONEY
LAUNDERING CASESPROSECUTED IN JAPANIn Japan, as a result of enacting theSpecial Narcotics and the Law for The
Punishment of Organized Crimes, theprosecution of money laundering cases
has developed increasingly. However, it isdifficult to evaluate the effectiveness ofmoney laundering measures because
there are only about ten cases utilizing
those laws as indicated below:
1. Cases of the Special Narcotics Law
a. In November, 1992, an accused got
7,000 ,000 yen after handing overstimulant drugs to someone, anddeposited this money into an accountunder an assumed name in a bank in
Gifu-city, to disguise the acquisitionof illegal profit.
b. In December, 1995, an accused
entrusted an acquaintance to remit tothe bank account of the acquaintancein Tokyo 800,000 yen as the proceedsof stimulant drug sales, to disguisethe acquisition of illegal profits.

632

c.

From June, 1995 till October, 1996,
an accused, who was the boss of ag a n g n a m e d “K o k u r y u u k a i” g o t
290,000 yen every day from stimulant
traffickers in his sphere of influenceor territory. So he received a total of
147,900,000 yen in illegal profits.
d. From April till June, 1997, an accusedgot 52,752,500 yen as the proceedsfrom stimulant drug sales and heremitted the money to a bank accountin the United Arab Emirates using
the name of his brother to disguisethe illegal profit. This case was thefirst prosecution example in Japan for
the act of the overseas remittance ofillegal profits.
e. From October, 1997 till March, 1998,
an accused got 31,180,10 0 yen inproceeds from stimulant drug sales,
and he remitted the money under an
a s s um e d n a m e to a b a n k i n th e
Islamic republic of Iran, addressed tohis mother, to disguise the acquisitionof illegal profits.
f. From December, 1998 till July, 1999,
an accused got 25,068,000 yen as theproceeds for the sale of regulation
dr ugs ( i.e . stim ula nt dr ugs) a nd
deposited the money into the accountin his common-law wife’s name in abank in S hizuo k a P r ef e ctu re , todisguise the crime profits.
g. In July, 1999, the accused let his
customer remit to a bank account in
Higashiosaka-city, held under a falsename 55,000 yen as the proceeds ofstimulant drug sales.
2. Cases of the Law for the Punishmentof Organized Crimesa. An accused got 3,920,000 yen inproceeds after he h anded some
obscene videos over to someone anddeposited the money into an accountwith a false nam e which heestablished at a post office in Osakacity.

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE
b. An accused let his customer, remit toa bank account held in a false name inTokyo 5,907,720 yen as the proceeds
for an obscene CDR.
c. An accused runs an enterprise of thecorporation by using illegal profit.
The accused undertook new stock of
T a i syo L if e I n su r a nc e C o m p a n y(hereinafter “Taisyo”), by using ofproperty that he got through fraud.
The accused and Claremont Capital
Holding Co. Ltd. (which the accused
acted as Representative Director of)acquired the position of stockholder inTaisyo and he ruled over about 66.8%
of Taisyo’s published stock. Then, theac c us e d us e d hi s au th o r ity as asto ck ho lde r of the comp any, in a
general meeting of the stockholders of
the company held on April 3, 2000,
with the purpose of influencing themanagement of Taisyo to appoint him
and three others as director of thecompany.
VI. PROFILE OF MONEY
LAUNDERING CASES INHONDURASAt the moment Honduras has three big
cases of money laundering, the biggest ofwhich is one of a Colombian organizedgroup. Those members came to Honduras
to launder money there, three of them
Colombians. They began a business ofselling home appliances and electrical
domestic equipment. The investigators
began an investigation of thosebusinesses, because it was strange thatthese places were not open to the public,
people needed to use a bell door to get in.
A lso , the Co lo mb ian police se nt the
Honduran investigators informa tion
about them, because they found out thatsome drug dealers that were located in
the sea on boats had communication witha c ell num b er in H ond ura s, so th ey
started a very deep investigation. Finallythey found the probable cause to present
in court, they began to make searches inthe business and in their houses. People
got arrested and in the search they foundab out 6 0 ba nk account boo ks, check
vouchers where they had paid pilots, they
had bought boats, and paid the b oa t
ca p t a i ns , n o th i ng r e l a t e d w it h th edomestic electrical appliance business, so
the judge ordered the arrest warrants
and confiscated about 8 luxury cars. Theyfroze all the bank accounts and also all
the houses that they were building with acost of over 2 million lempiras. When theinvestigators were
doing theinvestigation they noticed that in someaccounts people received a big amount ofmoney, this money was in the bank for 5days and in the next week all the money
was gone, so the money transfer was very
often from these banks in Honduras tothe other banks, most of them in Miami,
New York, Panama and Mexico. The totala m o u nt i nv o l v e d r u n s i n to se v e r a lmillions of dollars, and with a further
investigation they related bank accounts
with other accounts in Central, South andN o r t h A m e r ic a , e ve n i n S p a in a n d
Thailand.
VII. CONCLUSION
In summation, it can be safely statedthat national strategies are inherently
inadequate in respond ing to thechallenges pose d by transnationalorganized crime, in cluding mon ey
laundering, since they cross multiple
borders, involve multiple jurisdictions
and a multiplicity of laws.
The rapid growth in transnationalorganized crime and the complexity of theinvestigation requires a truly glob alresp on se. A t p rese nt, th e me a sure s
adopted to counter organized crime are
not only predominantly national, but also
different from one country to another. It

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
is, thus, absolutely imperative to increase
global cooperation between the world law
enforcement agencies and to continue todevelop the tools which will help themeffectively counter the transnationalorg anized crime, including money
laundering.

634