Laundering and the Connection with the Fight against Corruption
Money laundering is a process whereby the origin of funds generated by illegal means, like corruption, is concealed. The objective of the operation, which usually takes places in several stages, consists in making the capital and assets that are illegally gained seem as though they are derived from a legitimate source, and inserting them into economic circulation – typically by transferring the funds across international borders into legitimate financial institutions.
The central concept of Anti- Money Laundering Initiatives (AMLI) is to reduce the motivation for economic crimes by making it difficult to access their proceeds. The relationship between money laundering and corruption is clear. Corrupt money is usually laundered in an attempt to legitimize it and hide its source. Regimes that lack systems of accountability and transparency typically allow for high levels of money laundering and corruption. Further, so me of the poorest countries in the world are the most corrupt, as measured by Transparency International's Global Corruption Report. According to Transparency International a one unit decline on a 10-point corruption index lowers real GDP by 0.3 to 1.8 percentage points.
The Global Organization of Parliamentarians against Corruption (GOPAC) is an international network of parliamentarians dedicated to good governance and combating corruption and money laundering throughout the world. GOPAC’s approach to building integrity in governance is to bring together the political will and expertise to empower parliamentarians in all countries. Such an approach, especially on a matter where there are regional differences and sensitivities, takes time to develop the necessary understanding, build consensus and guide implementation.
