Money Laundering and Prosecution Barriers

Background

The research analyses the issue of money laundering as a crime and how this crime links to other serious crimes such as terrorism. The principal focus of this research is on the prosecution of the crime and the impediments to the successful prosecution of the crime. Prosecution of people for the offence of money laundering is one of the most effective methods for providing deterrence to those who commit the crime of money laundering (Moodley, 2008, p. 30).

One of the problems associated with the investigation of the crime of money laundering is the nature of the investigation, this being financial investigation for the most part, and the difficulties in such financial investigations, due to the lack of availability of public information on databases, disclosure forms of public officials, tax forms and disclosures by corporates (ECD Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Secretariat , 2011, p. 7).

Due to the lack of available information and effective financial investigation, there is a problem in investigating money laundering and taking action in form of prosecution (ECD Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Secretariat , 2011, p. 13). For a greater part, the responsibility of ensuring publicly available information for financial investigations and providing effective prosecution mechanisms for such investigations lie with the states. However, many states do not have effective legislations and policies in place to make this happen. To that end, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has the power to blacklist members who have failed to provide legal responses to money laundering within their jurisdictions (Moodley, 2008, p. 43).

In Saudi Arabia, money laundering became a serious issue and after the Al Qaeda attacks in May 2003, a number of draft laws and regulations, were adopted as a response to money laundering in Saudi Arabia (Blanchard & Prados, 2007, p. 23).

Audience

This research will be useful to students and academics who are interested in the area of money laundering and the legislative responses to the issue of money laundering. The research will also interest practitioners of law because the focus of this study will be on the legal obstacles to prosecution for money laundering. This research may present data on what these legal obstacles are and to that extent can also provide useful insights for the improvements in the legislations that respond to prosecution for money laundering. Law enforcement officers can also be interested in this research because this research will focus on the link between effective investigation mechanisms and prosecution for the crime of money laundering. As law enforcement agencies are primarily responsible for providing evidence for prosecution of money launderers, this research will be interesting to law enforcement officers because it will provide insight into the gaps in the investigation mechanism.

Importance of the subject

Money laundering is a serious and grave crime, not the least because of its link to organised crime and terrorism, both of which are financed through the surreptitious channels that make movement of money possible (Lilley, 2003, p. 117). In effect, money laundering channels facilitate such serious crimes as organised crimes and terrorism, which have the potential to adversely impact significant numbers of people and pose serious threats to national security, health and safety. What makes this research significant in this context is its potential to provide greater insight into the impediments in successful prosecution for the crime of money laundering as it is the lack of effective prosecution that is really a significant problem (Evans, 1994, p. 11). Due to the lack of effective investigation and prosecution for the crime of money laundering,

Linked to that - the scale of the problem

Unger and Busuioc (2007) have explored the gravity and the scale of the problem of money laundering and they present their findings in short term and long term effects of money laundering. These effects depict the scale of the problem in terms of effects of money laundering (Unger & Busuioc, 2007). The effects of money laundering include impact on the real sector, that is, production and consumption, business activities, employment, growth, increased crime, corruption, bribing, contamination of legal activities, terrorism, as well as other political impacts (Unger & Busuioc, 2007, p. 110).

A clear statement of the Aim

The aim of the study is to analyse the legal impediments in prosecution of the crime of money laundering. The objectives of the study are: to provide an understanding on the extent of money laundering problem in Saudi Arabia; to provide clear factors that are responsible for obstructing prosecution of money laundering; and to provide recommendations for improvements in the laws related to investigations and prosecution of the crime.

Research Methods

This research is conducted with mixed methods research, which relies on both statistical data as well as use of literature review for the purpose of responding to the research questions formulated at the beginning of the research. Mixed methods research allows a researcher to conduct an extensive investigation into the field of research by using a variety of data (Creswell, 2013). It has been defined as follows: “an approach to research in the social, behavioural, and health sciences in which the investigator gathers both quantitative (closed ended) and qualitative (open ended) data, integrates the two and, and then draws interpretations based on the combined strengths of both sets of data to understand research problems” (Creswell, 2015, p. 2). Mixed methods approach involve the researchers in collecting, analysing, and integrating both quantitative and qualitative data into a single study for the purpose of addressing their research questions (Creswell, 2013). The method is used in research studies wherein using just qualitative or quantitative research may seem to be inadequate in achieving the objectives of the research. It may be noted that while qualitative research enables the researcher to capture the detailed perspectives of participants, it is also limited by being based on soft data and being subjective in nature (Creswell, 2013). On the other hand, while quantitative research enables the researcher to draw conclusions from quantitative data, apply techniques that leads to effective analysis of data, involve control bias and investigate relationships within the data, it may be limited due to a possible jumble of dissimilar cases within the quantitative data (Brady & Collier, 2004, p. 5). It may also be noted that taken in themselves both quantitative and qualitative research methods have their advantages. For instance, quantitative research leads to a structured examination of the causal relationships that may exist between research variables (Bryman & Bell, 2015). However, the present research is of such nature, which requires an in depth analysis into the factors for inefficient prosecution of money laundering cases, that neither qualitative nor quantitative method will help the researcher to attain the objectives of these research; rather, a combination of these methods in a mixed research model will be useful in attaining results. Quantitative research methods are used in order to collect, analyse and present statistical data, and qualitative research methods are used to analyse and collate the scientific literature on this topic. Thus, mixed methods research is used to provide the benefits of both qualitative and quantitative methods (Atkinson , 2012). This research analyses the up to date information stated in the recognised scientific literature in the field of money laundering and prosecution, wherein the literature have been reviewed and analysed, leading to full understanding of the obstacles in the way of effective money laundering prosecution. Apart from this, in order to strengthen the common views and beliefs of the specialists in this topic in respect of effective money laundering prosecution to achieve the highest possible percentage of prosecution, semi-closed questionnaires are used. These questionnaires include questions on main obstacles of successful money laundering prosecutions which were derived in part from analysis of related scientific literature on the subject. The analysis of the questionnaire data leads to the scrutiny of the obstacles in the way of prosecution which are then arranged in a descending order from the most difficult obstacles downwards.

Literature Review

Background

Literature has often viewed the problem of money laundering from the perspective of corruption (Okogbule, 2007), or given attention to corruption as a factor in money laundering (Ryder, 2011, p. 101). Corruption itself is a serious and multi-faceted global problem, and which has impacts on economy, crime and social life (Ashforth, Gioia, Robinson, & Trevino, 2008). It would also be pertinent to note that there is a link between organised crime and money laundering, which makes the issue of money laundering a definite cause of worry. This literature review lists and discusses the obstacles in the way of prosecution of money laundering.

The International law related to Money Laundering and the need for domestic prosecution based responses

The UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crime is one of the important international measures in response to money laundering, which was signed in 2000 and it makes it an offence to participate in money laundering activities, or to associate with those who are involved in money laundering, or conspire or act as an accessory in money laundering. Money laundering is a serious crime and the extent of how far the international community considers this crime to be serious is seen in the steps that are taken by the international community to counter the crime. One of the important steps taken in the international sphere is the establishment of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which is based at Paris. The FATF is situated within the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). From the international perspective, the FATF is one of the most important contribution made by the G7/G8 nations amongst international measures against money laundering as the “ability of the FATF to make recommendations which are synchronised with other international standards and ‘enforced’ by the G7/8, creates a powerful mechanism for combating money laundering regardless of whether the purpose is to prevent terrorist financing or the spread of transnational crime” (Moodley, 2008, p. 42). Literature suggests that FATF measures, including the blacklisting of a country that has failed to take appropriate measures for countering the effects of money laundering and its links to terrorism, has the effect of pressuring the blacklisted country into taking such effects (Moodley, 2008, p. 50). On the basis of literature on this point, it may be stated that FATF is an important mechanism for responding to money laundering, although it is difficult to ascertain the effectiveness of FATF in this regard, as there are a number of countries that are black listed or grey listed, such as, North Korea, Iran, and Pakistan, who are yet to make serious efforts to change their laws with respect to money laundering and terrorism. There is a difference between external (international) and domestic mechanisms for countering the crime of money laundering. In international sphere, the FATF provides measures to be taken seriously by countries and take the required domestic actions for responding to the crime of money laundering. Within the states, the crime of money laundering requires effective mechanisms that lead to the prosecution of people for this offence (Moodley, 2008, p. 35). Prosecution makes the basis for effective domestic mechanisms as literature notes, because unless the prosecution mechanism is provided in the domestic law, there will be a lack of punishment for those who commit the offence of money laundering and also lack of sufficient deterrence for the crime of money laundering (Moodley, 2008, p. 23). Literature defines prosecution as the process in which the proof and evidence is presented before the courts of competent jurisdiction, on the basis of which the guilt or the innocence of the accused can be determined (Ribadu, 2004, p. 2). However, as the rest of the literature review will discuss, there are significant obstacles that come in the way of money laundering prosecution, in Saudi Arabia as well as other countries of the world.

Obstacles Related to Legal Systems

Financial crimes and related crimes ( ACTS not Crimes)

I mean by this factors the relationship between the effective law system toward the money laundering prosecution ….

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Financial crime is an umbrella term that is used to describe a number of activities as a part of a “multifaceted business or industry with a global reach and is commonly associated with illegal drugs, human trafficking, organized criminals and terrorism and includes money laundering” (Ryder, 2011, p. 1). Money laundering is therefore, a financial crime, which is characterised by a complex series of money related transactions and the involvement of a number of financial institutions across different foreign jurisdictions and authority, which makes money laundering a global phenomenon and an international challenge (Buchanan, 2004). As the transactions involved in money laundering are transnational in nature some of the obstacles that are before the investigating and prosecuting authorities are those related to undertaking a financial investigation that involves tracing assets that are located in foreign jurisdictions (Brown & Gillespie, 2015). In a study involving interviews with investigating officers, financial investigators and Crown Prosecution Service representatives in the UK, it was found that out of 60 cases related to money laundering that were being prosecuted at the time, 36 had an international dimension (Brown & Gillespie, 2015). With respect to such cases of money laundering, the obstacles faced by the prosecutors included difficulties in tracking assets in some countries and tracing funds transferred (Brown & Gillespie, 2015). Madinger (2011) notes that law enforcement agencies around the world are recognising the value of financial information in the detection and investigation of financial crimes. The establishment of Financial Intelligence Units in countries around the world, is therefore a way to ensure that large and suspicious currency transactions are tracked (Madinger, 2011, p. xvi). There are generally two approaches to how Financial Intelligence Units track money laundering. In the first approach, the focus is on the crimes that underlie money laundering violations, such as drug trafficking, and then trying to locate what happened to the money generated from the crimes (Madinger, 2011, p. 241). The second approach involves a focus on suspicious money transactions, and then locating the source that generated that money (Madinger, 2011, p. 241). Thus, Madinger (2011) locates two approaches of financial crimes investigators. Integrated financial investigations are useful in attaining success in money laundering investigations (Atkinson, 2010). An Integrated financial investigation is considered to be an important part of the strategy that targets cases involving proceeds from crime (Atkinson, 2010, p. 90). Integrated financial investigation is a singular financial investigation with multiple goals, thus, integrated. The first goal is to establish a link between the asset to the illegal activity, which if established can be used for confiscating of the asset and which can be done through collation of evidence that may be direct and/or circumstantial (Atkinson, 2010, p. 90). The second goal of integrated financial investigation is to establish sufficient evidence to prosecute for both corruption and money laundering (Atkinson, 2010, p. 90). The third goal is to use the evidence gathered through the investigation for tracing and identifying assets that could have been stolen or misappropriated, which is also called as asset tracing (Atkinson, 2010, p. 90). The integrated nature of the investigation sees the investigation into asset tracing and money laundering, establishment of charges and the making of an order for seizure, all steps being part of the one and same investigation (Atkinson, 2010). The process also can be linked or related to the two approaches into investigations of financial crimes as explained by Madinger (2011).

Absence of special courts

The idea of special courts to try commercial or financial crimes has found some acceptance in South Africa, where the Specialised Commercial Crime Court has been established in 1999 (Altbeker, 2003). The Specialised Commercial Crime Court was established to respond to the perceived inability of the criminal justice system to respond to the often complex cases of commercial crime (Altbeker, 2003). The court has been considered to be innovative because it has integrated the work of detectives of Commercial Branch in Pretoria with that of the prosecutors of the Specialised Commercial Crime Unit. Both the detectives as well as the prosecutors are also dedicated to the task of investigation and prosecution of financial and economic crimes (Altbeker, 2003). Due to the integration of the work of the detectives and prosecutors, there has been a more successful approach to investigation and prosecution of financial crimes (Altbeker, 2003). This is because the prosecutor assigned to a particular case is involved in its investigation at a much earlier point in time, which is not the case in other criminal cases. The detectives and the prosecutors are jointly responsible for the docket from which a charge sheet is drawn and its proper completion. The conviction rate of nearly 90% of all closed cases reflects on the success of this approach to commercial crimes in South Africa (Altbeker, 2003). In Uganda as well, a specialised court has been established in the form of Anti-Corruption Division within the High Court (Carson, 2015, p. 17). Uganda has comprehensive laws to respond to corruption including money laundering. These laws include the Anti-Corruption Act 2009 and the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2013, through which Uganda has criminalised core corruption offences including money-laundering, attempted corruption and organised crime (Carson, 2015, p. 20). The Anti-Corruption Court was established in 2008 as a specialised division in the High Court to adjudicate corruption and corruption-related offences (Carson, 2015). The reasons why the court was established are related to expeditious, orderly, and cost-effective disposal of corruption and corruption-related offences (Carson, 2015, p. 21). Most of Uganda’s construction, agriculture, and merchandise trade is within the informal sector. Corruption is also an issue in Uganda and impacts the issue of money laundering in the country (Carson, 2015, p. 18). Examples from Germany also indicate that there have been benefits of involving specialised economic divisions, and specialised high level and complex economic crime chambers at chosen district courts (Hornung, 2010, p. 46). In the districts that have such specialised economic crime chambers, the public prosecutor’s offices also have specialised high level and complex economic crime divisions (Hornung, 2010). The Fraud Trial Committee Report in the UK had recommended the setting up of specialist courts or tribunals for combating economic crime (Roskill, 1986). The premise on which this recommendation was based was that specialist courts would be better situated to try cases of fraud, money laundering and other financial or economic crimes (Roskill, 1986). Based on the recommendations in the Fraud Trial Committee Report, efforts have been made to establish specialist agencies, such as, Serious Frauds Office for the investigation and prosecution of money laundering. However, there are no specialised courts for money laundering in the UK.

Implementation of verdicts

The effectiveness of anti-money laundering law and measures will depend to a great extent on the implementation of the court verdicts in these. An example can be seen in the Israeli context, wherein courts have given a number of verdicts on money laundering criminal prosecutions that led to the arrest of involved parties as well as seizure of the proceeds of money laundering (Jacob, 2015, p. 149). In 2004, Avraham Lugassi was convicted on 72 counts of fraud even though the proceeds of the offence had been refunded to the customers involved (State of Israel though Jerusalem district attorney versus Avraham (Ben Daniel) Lugassi Criminal file 346/04 , 2004). In Israeli jurisprudence, it is seen that even if the funds involved are not as vast, but the instances involve perpetration of sophisticated crime or misrepresentation is vast on the part of the defendant, the courts have been severe in context of punishment given to the perpetrators. This was seen in a case were the sums involved were low, but the crime involved sophisticated laundering (State of Israel versus David Golan et al. criminal appeal 9788/03 ). The reasoning of the courts is expressed in another case, where Honourable Judge T.Strasberg-Cohen stated that “even sophisticated acts done by an individual in the fields of society and economics, can cause severe damage to the economy and the private person ... the various financial offences are amongst such acts” (Yeffet versus the State of Israel criminal appeal 2910/94 , 1994). Thus, the reasoning behind higher penalties in case of financial crimes is that the criminal has caused damage to the economy and to the private individuals through such acts, therefore, they ought to pay higher penalties (Jacob, 2015). In yet another case, the defendant was sentenced to 10 years in prison and $ 300,000 fine for causing distress to hundreds of families through the financial crime committed by him ( (Jerusalem) State of Israel versus Lionid Roitman Criminal file 1249/00, 2000). These cases decided by the Israeli courts in a number of money laundering and related cases has shown a strong implementation of the law. This can help to create deterrent for those who may be interested in money laundering activities but may be made aware that such activities carry harsh penalties under the law (Jacob, 2015). On the other hand, a negative role by the judiciary can create a different scenario related to money laundering and financial crimes. An example can be seen in the case of Moldova, where massive money laundering has been carried on and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project also published a story about Russian criminal organizations and politicians using Moldovan banks between 2010 and 2014 for laundering approximately $ 20 billion (Jacob, 2015, p. 151). Moldovan banks acted as conduits for the money laundering process, where the ultimate destination countries for the money was Latvia (Jacob, 2015, p. 151). Instead of bearing heavily down on these operations, Moldovian judiciary was found to have issued more than 50 court orders for loan guarantors to pay off a string of fictitious bad debts and then the cash was funnelled from private bank Moldinconbank to Latvia’s Trasta Komercbanka (Jacob, 2015). This has put the role of the judiciary in bad light with regard to money laundering (Jacob, 2015). The differing judicial approaches to money laundering as seen above in the examples of Israel and Moldova, indicate that judiciary plays an important role in prosecution and punishment of money laundering. Agustine (2017) asserts that judge decisions play the important role of acting as an engineering tool in the prevention and eradication of corruption and money laundering. The important methods by which this can happen is through decisions of the courts that provide for asset seizure or confiscation of the proceeds of the crime (Agustine, 2017, p. 119). Interestingly, courts may see asset seizure as more a method of civil sanctions than criminal sanctions. This can be seen in the decision of the Northern Ireland Appeals Court in a case where the court observed that that the main goal of their decision of asset seizure is to recover the proceeds of crime and not to punish (Walsh vs. Director of the Assets Recovery Agency (2005) NICA 6 , 2005). However, the individuals who have suffered asset seizure may still see this as a punitive action and this may affect their behaviour in future and deter others from the crime (Agustine, 2017, p. 119). The judicial decisions on asset seizure and the implementation of these decisions may be especially useful in cases where criminal prosecution may not be successful, or where the criminal case has seen the defendant being acquitted or not prosecuted for a lack of evidence or lack of the high evidentiary standard that needs to be achieved in criminal prosecution (Agustine, 2017, p. 125). This has been the observation of the Court of Appeal in a case in the UK as well (Assets Recovery Agency v Woodstock, (2006) EWCA Civ 741, 2006). The method of seizure of property that is tainted is also followed in other jurisdictions, such as Fiji, where in one case, the court held that once tainted property is found in the possession of the offender, it is deemed to be proceeds of crime unless the defendant proves otherwise on a balance of probabilities (Epeli Duve v The State and Others 2005 HAM 023/05, 2005). The cases discussed in this section indicate that there is implementation of verdicts in these jurisdictions, which makes the law on money laundering more effective. However, there are also challenges in implementation of verdicts in money laundering cases because assets may be located in different jurisdictions, which may mean that despite there being verdicts given against certain parties, it may be difficult to seize the assets of proceeds of crimes that may be located in different jurisdictions (Agustine, 2017).

Data collection and analysis procedures:  Different related government’s bodies.

In context of investigation and prosecution, the methods that are followed by other countries may also be considered here briefly with regard to the use of different government bodies for investigation into money laundering. In the United States, for example, a concerted effort is made to respond to the issue of money laundering and the approach is usually multidisciplinary in nature (Kruty, 2011, p. 24). In a case involving military officers of the US army, there were suspicions of money laundering and bribery, and the investigations saw the involvement of different departments within the Federal government, including Department of Justice, Internal Revenue Service, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Kruty, 2011, p. 25). The different departments were able to uncover some questionable practices in an Iraq army base, regarding some contracts. Different bank records were uncovered and the money trail was traced by the investigators with respect to the questionable practices involving the contracts (Kruty, 2011, p. 26). The investigation saw the interviewing of the suspects as well as family members, bank officials and those who were involved in the money trail, including jewellers and car dealers (Kruty, 2011, p. 27). The investigation is an example of what can be achieved if concerted and multi agency action is involved in investigations. Other countries may not show similar approach and results as the United States. For example, although in Malaysia as well, prevention and prosecution of money laundering has been taken seriously, there is still not a very concerted effort made to charge and investigate money launderers. For instance, in a research, the findings revealed that directors of companies are the leading group of people that have been charged under the relevant laws for money laundering, but the rate of prosecution is only about 50 percent of the number of cases investigated (Muhammaddun Mohamed & Ahmad, 2012). Moreover, the research also indicated that the only area that is being investigated and prosecuted in relation to money laundering is that illegal deposit taking, whereas there are other areas that are involved in money laundering that are not being investigated or charged (Muhammaddun Mohamed & Ahmad, 2012). This shows that there is a gap in the law or the investigations into money laundering in Malaysia. In Nigeria, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been established to investigate money laundering. The EFCC is required to collect evidence that would be able to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, thus making it central to effective prosecutions in money laundering cases but only if a high level of evidentiary validity is achieved by it (Oke, 2013). For the EFCC, a possible problem or obstacle is that of legalism, due to which it may not be always effective in driving successful prosecutions (Oke, 2013). In the UK, the new concept of an ‘Economic Crime Agency’ has been introduced with the idea of creating such an entity that unites the disparate parts of the economic crime agencies that were involved in the investigation of financial and economic offences into one entity. Then there is the Serious Fraud Office, which the principal prosecutor in cases involving fraud and money laundering. There has been an effort at consolidating the laws in the UK (Palmer, 2014, p. 322), and consequently powers and functions relating to investigation of financial crimes in the UK are also more consolidated than before. In Germany, different government agencies are involved in investigating money laundering cases or other economic crime cases, in which temporary joint investigation teams are formed with customs investigators, representatives of the labour administration, tax fraud investigators, and other agencies and these teams work under the control of the prosecutor’s office who is involved in the prosecution of the cases (Hornung, 2010). There is thus, a practical coordination between the prosecutor and the investigators in the economic or financial crime cases (Hornung, 2010). Germany has not created a central or federal type of body for the prosecution of high level and complex financial crime cases, and instead its efforts are focussed on tracking the cases on the field in a local basis (Hornung, 2010). It has been claimed by Hornung (2010) that this may be one of the reasons why Germany has a good track record of prosecuting such cases. While there may be some merit in this claim in the German context, it will not be amiss to note that the United States has a good track record as well in this area, but it has federal bodies dealing with money laundering cases. It may also be noted that money laundering is often transnational in nature and federal agencies will have more resources to respond to investigative needs of transnational nature as compared to local agencies. Therefore, Hornung (2010) may not be correct in his assessment. It is more likely that the specialised nature of the agencies and courts have a role to play in the successful prosecutions of money launderers in Germany. Banks are also involved in the financial investigations into money laundering offences. Therefore, it is important to consider any challenges that banks may face or investigators may face with relation to understanding the evidence that comes forth from the banks. This is because one of the challenges that comes in the way of detecting and investigating money laundering activities is the use of the banking system by launderers. As a response to this challenge, it has been made incumbent on banks and financial institutions to implement compliance systems that have adequate and appropriate tools and strategies for the control of money laundering as well as investigation into suspicious transactions (Tata Consultancy Services, 2017).

As a response to the challenges faced by banks and financial institutions as well as investigative bodies involved in regulation of money laundering activities, anti-money laundering (AML) regulations are introduced to detect and prevent money laundering activities, as per which the banks and financial institutions are required to have in place requisite compliance systems as per the AML regulations (Tata Consultancy Services, 2017, p. 2). These compliance systems are an important part of the prevention mechanism for money laundering as well as in the investigation of money laundering. Saudi Arabia too has AML regulations in place, and in this Saudi Arabia has followed the FATF Recommendations to bring their legal and institutional framework in line with the mandates under the FATF (FATF-GAFI, 2018). For the investigators involved in money laundering investigations, although banks are not government agencies, these are to also be involved in money laundering investigation process and there is a need to collaborate with the banks in order to recover evidence.

 Evidence Collection.

Successful prosecution of money laundering offences depends on the quality of evidence that is collected by the investigating agencies. Due to the complex nature of financial crimes like money laundering, there are certain challenges or obstacles that are faced by investigators in this respect. It has been noted by Strader that the principal difficulty with white collar crime is that it is difficult to detect, and investigation relies on circumstantial evidence and complex paper trails, with the investigators only being given rare clear proof in the nature of a ‘smoking gun’ (Strader, 2002, p. 1). To add to the difficulties of collecting evidence in investigations into money laundering, the changing nature of technology used for money transactions and the increasing internationalisation of money transactions have created more challenges in the nature of evidentiary problems, which seems to be an old problem in this area (Levi, 1986). Therefore, the use of modern communication methods and the ease with which monies may now be moved through the international banking system, increases reliance on documentary evidence and audit trails.

 Data Analysis.

The recent mutual assessment conducted by FATF-GAFI (2018) has however found that the financial intelligence unit in Saudi Arabia has largely been unable to conduct sophisticated financial analysis. It has also been revealed that money laundering investigations have seen an increase in recent years; however, the Saudi Arabian authorities have not been successful in investigating and prosecuting money laundering cases in a proactive fashion, and there has been an absence of a systematic pursuit of confiscation of proceeds of those who are involved in money laundering (FATF-GAFI, 2018). The use of forensic accounting for fraud detection has been suggested in the context of Nigeria and its EFCC (Umara, Shamsiah, & Samsudin, 2016). The EFCC in Nigeria has faced challenges in investigating and prosecuting money laundering cases due to different factors, one of which is the gaps in financial, investigative and forensic skills (Umara, Shamsiah, & Samsudin, 2016). The EFCC does not have a forensic accounting unit to properly investigate financial crimes, which comes in the way of conducting effective forensic analysis during investigations into money laundering cases (Umara, Shamsiah, & Samsudin, 2016).

 Data processing

At this time, money laundering in Saudi Arabia is subject to Sharia, Banking Control Law and Saudi Arabian labour law (Odeh, 2010). Saudi Arabia also does not permit foreigners to open bank accounts unless they have permission from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority or SAMA (Odeh, 2010). SAMA is also responsible for providing anti money laundering training to financial institutions (Odeh, 2010). There is also a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which was established by the government for the purpose of handling money laundering cases for which it coordinates its activities with the SAMA and the law enforcement agencies.

3- Investigation procedures:  Investigation approach

Literature suggests that it is the quality of investigation that is the basis for determining the effective prosecution of money laundering (ECD Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Secretariat , 2011). If the quality of investigation is not sound, then prosecution of the offence is not effective in achieving the outcomes, that is, conviction of those who commit the crime of money laundering. Emphasis on financial investigation by linking money laundering to economic crime and arguing that as money laundering is an economic crime, financial investigation is essential for successful investigation (ECD Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Secretariat , 2011). Financial investigation would place emphasis on tracing the movement of money and other assets for which the investigator would rely on public information from appropriate databases, disclosure and tax forms from public officials and disclosures by corporates, where necessary (ECD Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Secretariat , 2011). It is argued that the lack of publicly available information and effective financial investigation is the primary cause for the inefficacy of prosecution for money laundering (ECD Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Secretariat , 2011). While this emphasis on financial and economic aspects of money laundering is necessary to some extent, a link between money laundering and crimes others than economic crimes, such as, terrorism is also needed to be made out. The above focus in investigation is even more essential in the context of Saudi Arabia because here money laundering is deeply related to terrorist funding as also seen in the responses of Saudi Arabia after the 2003 terror attacks in Saudi Arabia perpetrated by the Al Qaeda. The government of Saudi Arabia identified the link between money laundering and terrorist funding and this led to the enactment of a number of draft laws and regulations for criminalising money laundering (Blanchard & Prados, 2007). In Saudi Arabia, the responses to money laundering show that the government is cognisant of there being a link between money laundering and terrorism. Saudi government took a number of steps in the direction of responses to money laundering. These measures were not just in the nature of treating money laundering as an economic offence, but also other measures. For instance, a joint task force has been established along with the United States; some charitable organisations have been closed because of ties to terror organisations; and unlicensed money exchanges have been stopped (Blanchard & Prados, 2007). Saudi Arabia is also associated with the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF), under the aegis of which it has had to implement the anti-money laundering and counter- terrorist financing standards of the FATF (Blanchard & Prados, 2007). This exposes the gap in literature where the focus is on money laundering investigation and prosecution from the perspective of economic offences only (ECD Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Secretariat , 2011). In Saudi Arabia, the response to money laundering has also been seen as a response to terrorist financing, which shows that there is a link between the two. This also points at the need to respond to money laundering from varied perspectives. Irrespective of these trends, there are lower rates of conviction in Saudi Arabia, which begs the question as to the reasons why prosecution of money laundering in Saudi Arabia is not able to achieve the desirable outcomes. One of the methods that may be useful for countering money laundering is to consider the link between money laundering and corruption. As corruption is also an important factor in investigations of money laundering, it would be useful to consider the effects of corruption on prosecution of money laundering. Corruption in investigative bodies may have a direct impact on the quality of investigation, quality of evidence gathered by the investigative bodies, and the transparency and the efficiency or the lack of the same, in context of prosecution (Okogbule, 2007).

 Attorney Agency power.  Specialized investigation units.

Organised crime groups are linked to complicated chains of money laundering, and Evans (1994) correctly points out that effective prosecution of such cases will depend greatly on the availability of specialists who can deal with the complexity of money laundering cases (Evans, 1994, p. 15). This may be linked back to what Ribadu (2004) has pointed out about financial investigation, although the difference between Ribadu (2004) and Evans (1994) is that the former only focuses on specialists in financial investigations, while Evans (1994) takes a broader approach to investigation. In the UK, one of the obstacles that has been pointed out with respect to investigation of money laundering and collection of evidence for criminal prosecution in such cases is that of lack of specialists within the police forces. However, the creation of the office of the Special Fraud Office, has brought in specialisation in such investigations. Police in the UK play a minor role in investigation of fraud. They are inhibited by certain factors, including lack of specialist knowledge and skills that come in the way of their successfully investigating cases involving money laundering (Button & Brooks, 2009). Moreover, there are a range of Key Performance Indicators set by the Home Office which the police are expected to fulfil in order to acquire specialist knowledge in this field, while the resources available to them remain limited and they are constrained in their ability to tackle complex crimes such as money laundering and fraud (Button & Brooks, 2009). In South Africa as well, a number of specialised agencies have been established to respond to the crimes of money laundering, which answers to the issue of specialised responses in investigation (Opperman, 2014). These agencies are established by the national government to combat fraud and corruption with the appropriate powers and mandate to investigate, arrest and prosecute corruption cases and cases involving money laundering (Opperman, 2014). In South Africa, specialist agencies of the government in this area include the Special Investigating Unit, the Auditor-General, the Public Protector, the Public Service Commission, the South African Police Service and the National Prosecuting Authority (Opperman, 2014, p. 22). These agencies have specialised knowledge in the area of corruption and money laundering investigation. In Nigeria, some success in investigations and prosecution of money laundering offences has been attributed to the establishment of special investigation teams to handle Bank Frauds, stock exchange frauds, and money laundering, which has led to bringing in specialization to the investigation process in such complex cases (Ribadu, 2004). In Fiji as well, which introduced the Proceeds of Crime Act 1997, to tackle the problem of corruption, lack of specialist training has posed to be an obstacle (Shameem, 2010, p. 7). Literature suggests that some of the provisions are complex and complicated and there is a requirement for lawyers who are familiar with these provisions, and investigators who have specialist training in the area of money laundering investigations (Shameem, 2010, p. 7). In context of prosecutors as well, there is a problem of lack of working knowledge of the various sections in the legislations related to corruption, and this has led to a gap in litigation against corrupt parties (Shameem, 2010). Therefore, in the Fijian context, knowledge of the law in relation to proceeds of crime and money-laundering has been noted to be the first challenge and this points at the lack of specialist training (Shameem, 2010).

4- Nature of the financial crimes:  Complexity.

Importantly, it has been revealed that complex money laundering schemes in Saudi Arabia have not been amenable to investigations and prosecution, which exposes a gap in Saudi Arabia’s legal and institutional framework for responding to money laundering (FATF-GAFI, 2018). Therefore, an important question that arises is why there is a problem with respect to investigation and prosecution with respect to money laundering cases, especially, complex money laundering cases. With relation to the role of banks and financial institutions, a problem that comes in the way of investigation is that these institutions themselves face challenges in managing risks and identifying vulnerabilities, as there are disparate transactions that are conducted in the banks and there are increasing complexities that face the banks, especially in the nature of fraud and cybercrimes (Tata Consultancy Services, 2017). To some extent, banks have been able to respond to these challenges by ensuring data protection, and prioritising compliance with the FATF regulations (Tata Consultancy Services, 2017). Three specific risks faced by the banks and financial institutions may be discussed here briefly. The first risk is based in the increase in cross-border and multi-jurisdictional AML-compliance requirements and customer due diligence requirements, which leads to the need for more governance by the banks and financial institutions (Tata Consultancy Services, 2017). The banks and financial institutions may not always be able to or willing to expend resources on the level of governance required. The second risk comes with the lack of skilled personnel, who are aware of and have in-depth knowledge of AML; there may also be issues of high on-boarding timelines and costs and attrition that institutions have to deal with, and which may make it difficult for them to respond to AML challenges (Tata Consultancy Services, 2017). Moreover, regulatory requirements may keep changing, and the institutions may have to expend significant time and resources for ensuring that their personnel are abreast with the changes (Tata Consultancy Services, 2017). The third risk comes from the complicated nature of the processes and technology that is involved in the AML compliance by the banks and financial institutions (Tata Consultancy Services, 2017). Banks and financial institutions have to ensure the availability of technology solutions, management of KYC data and systems, management of repository of data, all of which require complex systems to be put in place by the banks (Tata Consultancy Services, 2017). Banks are also required to maintain infrastructure that can help them maintain a check on cross-channel activities, possible fraudulent activities, cyber crimes, and financial crimes (Tata Consultancy Services, 2017). These are all regulatory activities that complicate the processes of the banks and make them obligated to maintain systems and processes that also involve some risks if not maintained properly (Tata Consultancy Services, 2017). Moreover, risk levels differ from customer to customer, and this requires banks to assess risks dynamically for each customer, making is incumbent on the banks to maintain a continual transaction monitoring for each customer (Tata Consultancy Services, 2017). Clearly, the banks and financial institutions are faced with their own set of challenges in managing risks in the transactions, and cross border activities on a customer to customer basis, which is a complex task in itself; moreover, the level of compliance is also high and needs to be managed by the banks and financial institutions. Investigative agencies and regulatory bodies that are involved in AML depend on the banks and financial institutions to provide them with information which is essential to AML. This also have to be maintained and provided by the banks and financial institutions and it is based on this information that agencies can conduct their AML activities. The above presents a picture of complex challenges and activities in the field of AML. Banks and financial institutions have responded to these challenges by adopting more analytics in their functioning, which can help them to detect fraud, screen customers and transactions for risks, and detect rogue transactions (Tata Consultancy Services, 2017). Despite these steps, there are always challenges in detecting and investigating money laundering as it is a dynamic area, as noted: “Money launderers will always find newer ways to use banks for illegal activities. The timely detection of laundering activities is the most challenging aspect in the implementation of an efficient AML program” (Tata Consultancy Services, 2017, p. 6). Therefore, the challenge that remains constant in the context of money laundering detection and investigation is that of the dynamic nature of the money laundering activities. Even as regulatory bodies come up with more means and tools to respond to money laundering activities, those who are involved in these activities are able to counter these with new and innovative ways of evading detection, which makes it difficult for any AML programme to be implemented effectively. It would be wrong to suppose that Saudi Arabia and other developing countries are the only ones that face these kinds of challenges in countering money laundering, as even developed countries do face similar challenges in this area. An example can be taken of the United Kingdom, which has faced similar challenges (Kirk, 2018); however, the responses to these challenges may be useful in guiding similar responses in Saudi Arabia as well. In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), established under the Financial Services Act 2012, is the principal regulatory body in this field (Kirk, 2018). The FCA has adopted an approach that focusses on ‘credible deterrence’ when it comes to dealing with actions that may be threats to the integrity of the financial markets (Kirk, 2018, p. 1). The premise on which this approach is based is that strong regulatory action and criminal prosecution may serve as strong deterrents against a range of misconduct in the area of money laundering (Kirk, 2018, p. 1). The UK has taken a number of steps to respond to money laundering, and a range of other economic offences in the recent times. These include revision of statutory definitions of criminal offences of fraud under the Fraud Act 2006), Money Laundering (Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, and the introduction of the Bribery Act 2010 (Kirk, 2018). Despite these important changes in the regulatory landscape dealing with money laundering and other economic offences it is considered difficult to assess the impact of these changes in the financial sector (Kirk, 2018). It has been noted that if “one included sharp practice and unethical conduct in the mix, the numbers would increase exponentially, but the extent of deliberate and dishonest criminal misconduct is less easy to identify” (Kirk, 2018, p. 1). The banking system itself has come under a scanner because of the extent of frauds that have taken place as well as the 2008 financial crisis. Even where prosecutions into misconduct have taken place, these have been related to ‘old misconduct’ by banks, and have been long protracted processes with mixed results (Kirk, 2018, p. 3). This has led to the general impression that “many of the major banks engaged in benchmark manipulation over a lengthy period of time is that the banking sector is fundamentally lacking in proper standards of honesty and integrity” (Kirk, 2018, p. 1). It is also significant to note that developed countries also have a number of opportunities in which banking frauds and other illegal transactions are facilitated. Kirk (2018) point out that in the UK, there are new trends in banking, which create new opportunities for fraud, these being, banking arrangements, crowd funding, alternative finance options, and new currency models. These new models and options make it difficult to ascertain the margins between authorised and unauthorised business and challenge the capacity of the regulator to assess the integrity of new products, and police them so that opportunities for fraud are minimised (Kirk, 2018). An additional problem with these new kinds of options and models is that these are too complex for the understanding of the majority section of the population (Kirk, 2018). This lack of understanding creates a gap in which fraud is facilitated. Other countries too face similar challenges and problems in the area of AML (OECD Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Secretariat in August 2011, 2011). The brief discussion above demonstrates that the challenges faced by the regulatory bodies in the Saudi Arabia are not that different from the ones that are faced by the regulatory authorities in the developed countries, like the UK as well as some other countries in the world. This provides an insight into how the Saudi Arabian experience may not be that different from the experiences of other countries.

 Sensitivity.

Political corruption may also have an impact on prosecution of money laundering offences (Markovska & Adams, 2015). Political corruption and money laundering may be interlinked when political elite use financial institutions and banks for money laundering (Markovska & Adams, 2015). Therefore, there are two measures that may be taken by the authorities for responding to money laundering. First, anti-corruption legislation may be used to counteract money laundering and the gaps in prosecution of money laundering. Second, criminal laws, especially anti-corruption laws must be used to respond to the specific offence of money laundering. The linkage of corruption and money laundering has been recognised to be an important one even in Brunei as evidenced by the enacting of the Emergency (Prevention of Corruption) Order in 1981 (Juanda & Kamaluddin, n.d.). Juanda and Kamaluddin do reflect on the linkage between corruption and money laundering; however, they do not delve deeply into how corruption can be an impediment in prosecution of money laundering offences. This is not to say that Juanda and Kamaluddin do not consider the ways in which corruption cannot be an impediment in prosecution in general, because that aspect is covered by them; however, they fail to make a deeper connection with specific case of money laundering prosecution. There is a greater focus on bribery and corruption in Juanda and Kamaluddin, which fails to shed adequate light on prosecution of money laundering, which may have the involvement of specific issues. It may be noted that money laundering may also be done through corporations and for that reason there is a need to consider the ways in which corporations are involved in money laundering and what specific steps may be taken to respond to this issue. It has been indicated that financial investigations are important aspects of prosecuting money laundering by corporations, for which public information on corporations is required (ECD Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Secretariat , 2011). However, once again the approach of focussing on corporations is not sufficient to understand the issues related to money laundering, where the issue of money laundering is closely interlinked with terrorist funding also. It may be worthwhile to recall that the U.S. State Department International Narcotics Control Strategy Report of 2007 has noted that Saudi donors and unregulated charities in the country have been a source of concern in context of financing of extremist groups (Blanchard & Prados, 2007). Due to the gaps in the money laundering laws of Saudi Arabia, it has been reported that some nefarious organisations were able to raise money directly from individuals and through charities and then divert the funds to illegal purposes (Blanchard & Prados, 2007). Therefore, research in the area of money laundering in Saudi Arabia will have to take a closer look at the link between charities and money laundering. The link between charities and money laundering has been explored in literature, however, this literature is largely based on other countries (Rudner, 2010). For instance, one study explores the link between charities financing and money laundering in context of Hezbollah (Rudner, 2010). Bricknell (2011) too has explored the link between charities and non-profit organisations and money laundering. Bricknell (2011) notes that the link between non profit and terrorist activities has been seen in the fundraising activities of the Irish Republican Army as well as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Money laundering becomes an important issue in this context considering how gaps in laws can allow terror relating funding to be done through the instrument of non profit organisations (Odeh, 2010). Saudi Arabian laws will have to respond to this link between charitable institutions and money laundering (Odeh, 2010). Saudi Arabia has taken some steps in this direction by establishing the High Commission for oversight of charities (Odeh, 2010). There are laws that mandate that charities are licensed, registered and audited (Odeh, 2010). However, there is little research that shows how oversight over charities is maintained. This is a gap in the literature that needs to be addressed in research on Saudi Arabia and its money laundering laws. The issue of money laundering is considered to be serious by the FATF-GAFI (2018) as there is a significant risk of terrorist financing in Saudi Arabia, due to the presence of cells of certain terror organisations in the country (FATF-GAFI, 2018). Nevertheless, it has been found that Saudi Arabia has demonstrated both ability and willingness to pursue terrorist financing (FATF-GAFI, 2018). Consequently, there have been more than 1700 investigations and convictions on terrorist financing in the country since 2013 (FATF-GAFI, 2018). However, it has been noted that the convictions are usually on the basis of terrorist financing and not money laundering (FATF-GAFI, 2018). Conviction rate on the basis of money laundering is still not satisfactory (FATF-GAFI, 2018). A problem that may also be common to Islamic countries or countries with Islamic banking, is that of alternate banking systems, which may make it difficult to apply traditional investigative mechanisms to the challenges faced due to these alternate banking systems (Zagaris, 2007). Where there are alternate banking or parallel banking systems, it is possible that regulatory mechanisms that are often seen with respect to traditional banking mechanisms may be absent or may be weak, as is the case in many developing Islamic countries of the world (Zagaris, 2007). In such an environment, it is possible for there to be illegal financial transactions that are not caught by the investigators due to the prevalence of informal fund transfer systems that may be more common in such environments (Zagaris, 2007). Therefore, an important point to consider in the context of countries like Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia where Islamic banking system is prevalent and informal fund transfers take place, there is a possibility for there to be illegal financial transactions that may not be caught by the investigators and if caught, may prove to be difficult to investigate (Zagaris, 2007). It has also been noted that such illegal money transactions are linked to other criminal activities that may be serious and pose different kinds of challenges to the investigators, such as, terrorism funding and illegal or illicit trafficking activities, which makes it necessary for investigative agencies to consider the ways in which they can respond to the problem of money laundering (Whiteside, 2011).

 Proof difficulties.

Money laundering has been defined as the process in which the ownership or source of the proceeds of criminal activity are concealed or disguised and later integrated into legitimate financial systems so that they are indistinguishable from the assets acquired by legitimate means (OECD, 2008). The underlying notion is that there is a conversion of illegitimate proceeds into legitimate proceeds, which can then be directed at other activities. A prosecutor relies on a number of factors for proving the guilt of the accused, some of these factors being related to availability of institutions that can gather information against the accused (Ribadu, 2004). The prosecutor also depends on the quality of evidence collected by investigators, prosecutorial competences, and the law governing the prosecution (Ribadu, 2004). Other important factors include the transparency of the law and legal process (Ribadu, 2004). Ribadu (2004) rightly points out that there are a number of factors that are likely to impact the prosecution and its processes, and these factors are to be found in Saudi Arabian legal system as well, if an effective system of prosecution of the money laundering offence is to be found here. Evans (1994) points out that one of the issues that impede the prosecution in money laundering cases is the insulation of principal characters from prosecution as there are subordinates that are also involved in the crimes and these are scapegoated by the principal characters: “When the focus shifts from small-scale criminal ventures to more organized criminal enterprises, the nature of the law enforcement problems shifts as well. From the standpoint of investigation and prosecution, the problem has long been that the major figures in criminal ventures could insulate themselves from the crimes committed by subordinates. If convictions were obtained, it was the "soldiers" who suffered the consequences, the "generals" were far from the scene. They tend, however, to be closer to the money” (p.2). This issue is particularly relevant to organised criminal groups who are involved in serious crimes, such as, terrorism and drugs and arms smuggling or even human trafficking. As money laundering is particularly related to organised crime activities, Evans (1994) makes a good point in linking money laundering prosecution to the methods adopted by organised crime groups to escape prosecution. Proof difficulties are also seen with respect to investigation against corporations that are involved in economic wrongdoing (Laming & Queree, 2014). It is typically difficult for prosecutors to investigate financial crimes against corporations, especially those involving transnational operations because of the complexity involved in such investigations, the time taken to conduct such investigations being significantly long, and the high costs of investigation for meeting the substantial evidential and procedural requirements in the prosecution of such cases (Lord, 2014). Due to these reasons, in the UK at least, there has been a lesser likelihood of prosecutions against corporations in the past, but “this is likely going to change with the introduction of deferred prosecution agreements in the UK Crime and Courts Act 2013, and the increase in fines for fraud, bribery and money laundering offences” (Wan, 2016, p. 228). Deferred prosecution agreements or DPAs have been used in the United States for decades to overcome the prosecutorial difficulties with proof collection against corporations and other hurdles in the way of successful criminal prosecutions against corporations (Xiao, 2013). DPAs are also useful in getting the corporation to get to cooperate with the investigators and provide them with evidence against individuals as part of the DPAs may contain such requirements (Lord, 2014). This may help the investigators overcome the difficulties associated with collection of proof against the corporate wrongdoers.

Data analysis

Data was also collected for this research through a questionnaire that was administered to ______. This chapter presents and analyses the findings of the questionnaire. The questions in the questionnaire were derived from the literature review; the latter had indicated the obstacles in the way of prosecution for money laundering. The questions were devised to analyse whether these obstacles identified in the literature review also resonate on the field. The main areas of questions were related to: financial crimes and related acts, absence of special courts, difficulties in implementation of verdicts, involvement of different government bodies, difficulties in collection of evidence, insufficiency in data analysis and processing, weaknesses in investigation methods, insufficient powers of the attorney generals, absence of specialised investigation units, complexities involved in money laundering case investigation and prosecution, sensitivities involved in such cases, and difficulties in gathering proof. The findings of these questionnaires present some interesting highlights on these issues. With regard to financial crimes and related acts, the findings of the questionnaire indicate that 21.6 percent respondents agree that financial crimes and related crimes present complex issues, while 56.8 percent respondents agree to some extent with this and 21.6 percent respondents do not agree with this proposition. It may be said that the majority of the participants (21.6 + 56.8 percent) agree with this proposition and only a minority disagrees with it. Two interesting insights that are made in the course of the questionnaires are that there is a lack of complete understanding of legal methods or proof related to money laundering investigation and prosecution and that there is a need to introduce new rules and updates that are able to meet the new developments in the field of money laundering investigation and prosecution. With regard to absence of special courts, the majority of the participants, that is, 48.6 percent completely agree that there is an absence of special courts that can deal with money laundering prosecution, and that this absence comes in the way of successful prosecution of money laundering. 37.8 percent of the respondents agreed with this to some extent and only a small minority of respondents (13.5 percent), did not think that absence of special courts is an impediment in the way of successful prosecution of money laundering cases. With regard to difficulties in implementation of verdicts, the majority of the respondents (43.2 percent) did not think that there were significant difficulties that came in the way of implementation of verdicts. However, 21.6 percent of respondents completely agreed that there were difficulties in implementation of verdicts, while 35.1 percent of the respondents agreed to some extent that there were difficulties. This indicates that a vast majority of respondents agree to some extent that there are difficulties associated with the implementation of verdicts. With regard to involvement of different government bodies, a significant majority of the respondents agree that involvement of different government bodies is effective in improving the prosecution rates of money laundering cases, with 55.6 percent of respondents completely agreeing to this proposition, and 38.9 percent agreeing to some extent. Only a small minority of respondents (5.6 percent) do not agree with this proposition. The insight in this regard, supported by the views of majority of the respondents, is that it is a positive development to have multiple investigations bodies involved in money laundering cases. With regard to difficulties in collection of evidence, 43.2 percent of the respondents noted that collecting evidence in money laundering cases is difficult, while 40.5 percent respondents agreed to this to some extent. Only 16.2 percent respondents completely disagreed with this statement. It may be noted that the majority of the participants agree to a degree that collection of evidence in money laundering cases is a challenging task. As important insight in the questionnaire was that 2% of the respondents have admitted to conniving with some figures in such cases. With regard to insufficiency in data analysis and processing, a significant number of respondents, that is, 62.2 percent completely agree that there is insufficiency in data analysis and processing. Meanwhile, 32.4 percent respondents agree to some extent with this proposition. Only a small minority, 5.4 percent of respondents, do not agree with this at all. With regard to weaknesses in investigation methods, 35.1 percent respondents completely agree that there are gaps and weaknesses in this area, while 48.6 percent respondents agree to a degree. Only 16.2 percent respondents do not agree with this at all. However, the majority of the respondents do agree that weaknesses in the current investigation methods are obstacles in the way of effective prosecution of money launderers. With regard to insufficient powers of the attorney generals, only a small minority of respondents (16.7 percent) completely agree with the proposition that insufficient powers given to the attorney generals are responsible for the ineffective prosecution rates. While 38.9 percent of the respondents do agree to a degree that insufficient powers of the attorney generals come in the way of prosecution, a significant majority of respondents (44.4. percent) completely disagreed with this proposition. This indicates that the majority of respondents are not convinced that insufficient powers of attorney generals are obstacles in the pay of effective prosecution. With regard to absence of specialised investigation units, 21.6 percent of the respondents completely agreed with the proposition that due to lack of specialised investigation units, obstacles are presented in the way of successful prosecution of money laundering. A significant majority of the respondents (43.2 percent) do agree to a degree that the absence of specialised investigation units play a role as obstacles in the way of prosecution of money laundering; however, 35.2 percent of the respondents have disagreed with this statement. Therefore, it may be noted that although the majority does agree that specialised investigation units are important to effective prosecution of money laundering, a significant minority disagrees with this. With regard to complexities involved in money laundering case investigation and prosecution, a significant majority (37.8 percent that completely agrees, and 48.6 percent that agrees to a disagree) have supported the contention that the complex nature of the investigation and prosecution of money laundering cases presents challenges in effective prosecution. Only a small minority of 13.5 percent respondents have completely disagreed with this statement. This indicates that for a vast proportion of respondents there is consensus on the view that money laundering cases are complex and therefore, investigations and prosecutions in these cases are riddled by complexities that come in the way of effective prosecution. With regard to sensitivities involved in such cases, a significant majority (54.1 percent) completely agrees with this, and 35.1 percent agree to a degree, while only 10.8 percent respondents completely disagree with this proposition. This suggests that a vast number of majority accepts that money laundering investigations and prosecutions may involve sensitive information and issues that may come in the way of prosecutions. With regard to difficulties in gathering proof, 27 percent of the respondents completely agree that this presents an important issue as an impediment in money laundering prosecutions, while 48.6 percent agree to a degree. Only 24.3 percent of the respondents have completely disagreed with this. An important insight in this area is that at times judges are unable to implement the crime facts on the written articles. The questionnaire was brief, but it has touched upon all the major findings of the literature review in the way of the obstacles that come in the way of successful prosecutions of money laundering cases. In the following chapter, discussion is presented based on the findings of the literature review and the questionnaire data.

Discussion

Literature suggested that financial crimes are complex areas that are related to a variety of crimes such as illegal drugs, human trafficking, organized criminals and terrorism and money laundering (Ryder, 2011). These financial crimes are often interlinked and money laundering provides an impetus to crime and also makes it complex for the investigators to investigate and prosecutors to prosecute these crimes (Atkinson, 2010; Madinger, 2011). The findings of the questionnaire support this. Majority of the respondents have agreed that financial crimes and related crimes present complex. Furthermore, it has been suggested in the findings of the questionnaire that financial crimes are complicated by the lack of complete understanding of legal methods or proof related to money laundering investigation. This suggests that complexities in financial crimes is compounded by the lack of understanding on the part of the agencies that are meant to respond to financial crimes. It has also been suggested in the findings of the questionnaire that there is a need to introduce new rules and updates that are able to meet the new developments in the field of money laundering investigation and prosecution. This suggests that the existing laws may not be adequate for responding to financial crimes. Literature suggested that special courts can be useful in speeding up and responding effectively to the prosecution of money laundering (Altbeker, 2003). Literature from different nations, such as, Uganda which has a specialised court has been established in the form of Anti-Corruption Division within the High Court (Carson, 2015); Germany which has specialised economic divisions, and specialised high level and complex economic crime chambers at chosen district courts (Hornung, 2010), indicates that there is a lot to be said for the establishment of special courts. In the UK as well, the demand to set up specialist courts or tribunals for combating economic crime was made as far back as in 1986 in the Fraud Trial Committee Report (Roskill, 1986). The findings from the questionnaire also indicate that majority of the participants agree that there is an absence of special courts that can deal with money laundering prosecution, and that this absence comes in the way of successful prosecution of money laundering. Therefore, it may be noted that lack of special courts in some jurisdictions may present obstacles in the way of effective prosecution of money laundering. Literature has suggested that effectiveness of anti-money laundering law and measures will depend to a great extent on the implementation of the court verdicts in these cases (Jacob, 2015; Agustine, 2017). Judicial decisions on asset seizure and the implementation of these decisions may be especially useful in cases where criminal prosecution may not be successful, or where the criminal case has seen the defendant being acquitted or not prosecuted for a lack of evidence or lack of the high evidentiary standard that needs to be achieved in criminal prosecution (Agustine, 2017). It has also been noted that there are significant challenges in implementation of verdicts in money laundering cases because assets may be located in different jurisdictions, which may mean that despite there being verdicts given against certain parties, it may be difficult to seize the assets of proceeds of crimes that may be located in different jurisdictions (Agustine, 2017). Findings from the questionnaire data also support these indications. Majority of the respondents have agreed to a degree that there are significant difficulties in the way of implementation of verdicts, while there are also a high proportion of respondents who do not believe this to be the case. This is interesting and may present an area for future research as there is lack of conclusive data on this point in the questionnaire. Literature has suggested that investigations into money laundering can be more effective if different government agencies or bodies are involved and concerted multi agency action is used (Kruty, 2011). Countries that have involved multi agency action for responding to money laundering have been found to give more positive results with respect to prosecution of money laundering (Muhammaddun Mohamed & Ahmad, 2012; Oke, 2013). For instance, in the UK, the concept of an ‘Economic Crime Agency’ has been introduced with the idea of creating an entity that unites the disparate parts of the economic crime agencies that were involved in the investigation of financial and economic offences into one entity (MacNeil, 2011). The responses to the questionnaire on this point also reveal that a significant majority of the respondents agree that involvement of different government bodies is effective in improving the prosecution rates of money laundering cases. It is suggested in the responses to the questionnaire that it is a positive development to have multiple investigations bodies involved in money laundering cases. Therefore, it would seem that there is a demand for consolidated or cooperative action between multiple agencies which would bring together different skills and methods for tackling the complex money laundering cases. Literature suggested that there are considerable difficulties in collection of evidence in complex cases of money laundering (Ribadu, 2004; Shameem, 2010; Whiteside, 2011). Difficulties related to evidence collection makes it challenging for prosecutors to successfully prosecute persons and evidence collection is part of the number of factors that are involved in impacting the quality of prosecution in money laundering cases (Ribadu, 2004). Evidence collection may be compromised due to the challenge of identifying those who are involved in money laundering, which can be complicated in the case of major corporations or organisations, where the principal characters involved in money laundering may be shielded as noted by Evans (1994). In the case of organised criminal groups involved in serious crimes, such as, terrorism and drugs and arms smuggling or even human trafficking, a number of methods may be adopted to escape detection including use of shields in the form of lower level subordinates set up to take the fall for principal characters (Evans, 1994). Literature notes that in the case of corporations, transnational operations of the corporations may make it difficult for the prosecutors to identify the transactions that may be suspect (Laming & Queree, 2014; Lord, 2014). Corporate transactions are also complex in nature and investigation into such transactions are time consuming, and expensive; the high costs of investigation for meeting the substantial evidential and procedural requirements in the prosecution of such cases is a challenge for prosecutors (Lord, 2014). The findings of the questionnaire correspond to the literature findings as majority of the respondents have confirmed that collecting evidence in money laundering cases is difficult, and challenging. An interesting finding from the questionnaire data is that some of the officials have admitted that due to the difficulties associated with the collection of evidence, there are times when they connive at changing the data. Literature indicates that there is a problem with the data analysis in money laundering cases because in many such cases, sophisticated financial data is difficult to decipher and interpret by the investigators who may not be experts in that area (FATF-GAFI, 2018). This has been the case in Saudi Arabia, where the financial intelligence unit has been largely unable to conduct sophisticated financial analysis (FATF-GAFI, 2018). laundering (FATF-GAFI, 2018). Literature suggests the use of forensic accounting for fraud detection as forensic analysis may be appropriate for deciphering and analysing complex and sophisticated financial data (Umara, Shamsiah, & Samsudin, 2016). The findings of the questionnaire data also suggests that the majority of the respondents have agreed that there is an insufficiency in data analysis and processing, which impacts prosecution and investigation into money laundering. In Saudi Arabia, there is an indication from the questionnaire data that the current investigation methods are obstacles in the way of effective prosecution of money launderers. Questionnaire data also revealed an important finding related to insufficiency of powers of the attorney generals, wherein only a minority of respondents completely agreed with the proposition that insufficient powers given to the attorney generals are responsible for the ineffective prosecution rates. This is an interesting finding because officials do not seem to perceive the insufficiency of powers of the attorney generals as a reason why prosecution into money laundering cases is weak. On the other hand, questionnaire data shows that majority of the respondents do agree that lack of specialised investigation units is an impediment for successful prosecution of money laundering. Relating this to the findings of the literature review, it may be noted that literature indicates that it is important for successful prosecution of money laundering that there are specialists who can deal with the complexities of money laundering cases (Altbeker, 2003; Atkinson, 2010; Brown & Gillespie, 2015). The experience of the different countries with regard to specialised agencies also points at the utility of such agencies for the prosecution of money laundering cases. In the UK for example, the establishment of the Special Fraud Office, brought in specialisation in money laundering investigations so that now police play a minor role in investigation of fraud, which is seen to be a positive development, as police are inhibited by certain factors, including lack of specialist knowledge and skills that come in the way of their successfully investigating cases involving money laundering (Button & Brooks, 2009). Similarly, literature from South Africa indicated that eestablishment of number of specialised agencies established to respond to the crimes of money laundering, answers to the issue of specialised responses in investigation (Opperman, 2014). Specialist agencies of the government like the Special Investigating Unit, the Auditor-General, the Public Protector, the Public Service Commission, the South African Police Service and the National Prosecuting Authority, have been found to be effective in dealing with money laundering investigations (Opperman, 2014). Similarly in Nigeria, success in investigations and prosecution of money laundering offences has been attributed to the establishment of special investigation teams to handle Bank Frauds, stock exchange frauds, and money laundering, which has led to bringing in specialization to the investigation process in such complex cases (Ribadu, 2004). Therefore, it may be stated that there is a congruence between the findings of literature and the questionnaires on this data.

Both literature and the questionnaire data confirms that money laundering investigations are riddled with complexities and sensitivities, which make such investigations challenging for the prosecutors. For instance, in Saudi Arabia, literature has suggested that the complex money laundering schemes in Saudi Arabia have not been amenable to investigations and prosecution (FATF-GAFI, 2018). Not just the investigators, but also banks and financial institutions face challenges due to the disparate transactions akin to fraud and cybercrimes (Tata Consultancy Services, 2017). Banks and financial institutions have responded to these challenges by adopting more analytics in their functioning, which can help them to detect fraud, screen customers and transactions for risks, and detect rogue transactions (Tata Consultancy Services, 2017); however, the data analysis involved in such actions is often sophisticated and complex, which requires specialists. Also, money laundering is dynamic in nature, which is one of the characteristics that makes it difficult for investigators and banks and financial institutions to keep up with the newer methods by which money laundering is effected. Literature suggests some of the ways in which the dynamism related to money laundering can be responded to. For instance, in the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), established under the Financial Services Act 2012, is the principal regulatory body in has adopted an approach that focusses on ‘credible deterrence’ when it comes to dealing with actions that may be threats to the integrity of the financial markets (Kirk, 2018). The UK also revised statutory definitions of criminal offences of fraud under the Fraud Act 2006), Money Laundering (Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, and the introduction of the Bribery Act 2010 (Kirk, 2018). Sensitivities related to money laundering cases are related to political corruption, which may have an impact on prosecution of money laundering offences as it may be interlinked with political elite use of financial institutions and banks for money laundering (Markovska & Adams, 2015). Sensitivities may also be linked to the relationship between money laundering and certain criminal activities, such as, political crimes, or terrorism (Juanda & Kamaluddin, n.d.). In case of money laundering being done by corporations, especially major corporations, money laundering investigations may involve sensitive issues like link between corporates and political institutions of a nation. Sensitivities may also be linked to use of charities for money laundering or diversion of money through religious endowments (Blanchard & Prados, 2007; Rudner, 2010). There is abundant literature on the use of money laundering for terrorist activities (Rudner, 2010; Bricknell, 2011). However, when money laundering is investigated in a national context, sensitivities may be seen with respect to charities and terrorist organisations, which may make it challenging for the investigators to investigate such cases (FATF-GAFI, 2018). As noted earlier, the findings of the questionnaires confirm that money laundering investigations can be both complex and sensitive. Questionnaire data depicted consensus on the view that investigations and prosecutions in money laundering cases are riddled by complexities that come in the way of effective prosecution. A significant majority of the respondents also agreed with the proposition that sensitivities involved in money laundering cases, such as sensitive information and issues, may come in the way of successful prosecutions.

Conclusion

This research has highlighted some of the important factors or challenges that come in the way of effective and successful prosecutions of money laundering cases. This section of the dissertation will note the final conclusions of the research with regard to the research questions posed at the beginning of the dissertation. The first conclusion of this research is that the complex nature of financial crimes demands sophistication in investigation of financial crimes. Financial crimes are complex in that they include transnational transactions or are linked to a variety of crimes such as illegal drugs, human trafficking, organized criminals and terrorism and money laundering. Due to these complexities of the crimes, investigators face substantial challenges in investigation. Moreover, complexities in financial crimes is compounded by the lack of understanding on the part of the agencies that are meant to respond to financial crimes. This suggests that there should be a development of multi-agency approach to financial crime investigation. It also suggests that there should be a development of specialised agencies for the investigation of financial crimes. Coming back to multi-agency approach, this research has suggested that investigations into money laundering can be more effective if different government agencies or bodies are involved and concerted multi agency action is used; this is borne out by experiences in countries that have involved multi agency action for responding to money laundering, where positive results have been seen. Therefore, consolidated action is necessary for responding to money laundering cases. The second conclusion drawn from this research is that there should be special courts for money laundering cases as these can be useful in speeding up and responding effectively to the prosecution of money laundering. The absence of special courts that can deal with money laundering prosecution, is an impediment for successful prosecution of money laundering. Therefore, it may be noted that special courts will be useful for ensuring effective prosecution of money laundering. Not only should there be special courts, there should also be development of mechanisms that deal with implementation of the court verdicts in these cases. As this dissertation indicated, judicial decisions on asset seizure and the implementation of these decisions may be especially useful in cases where criminal prosecution may not be successful, or where the criminal case has seen the defendant being acquitted or not prosecuted for a lack of evidence or lack of the high evidentiary standard that needs to be achieved in criminal prosecution. Implementation of verdicts in money laundering cases is challenging in situations where assets may be located in different jurisdictions, which may mean that despite there being verdicts given against certain parties, it may be difficult to seize the assets of proceeds of crimes that may be located in different jurisdictions. There is therefore a need to develop mechanisms that will enable the verdicts of the courts to be implemented even if the assets are located in different jurisdictions. The third conclusion in this dissertation is that specific obstacles related to money laundering prosecution in include difficulties in collection of evidence, and problem with the data analysis in money laundering cases. Both these problems are also related to the first conclusion, that is, demand for sophistication in investigations into money laundering cases. This is because sophisticated financial data is difficult to decipher and interpret by the investigators who may not be experts in that area. This links back to the need to involve specialists who can deal with the money laundering investigations in a much more effective way than the police, which lacks specialist knowledge and skills for investigating money laundering cases. The fourth conclusion of this dissertation is that money laundering cases are not necessarily handled better where attorney generals are given more powers. This is a surprising finding of this dissertation because conventional wisdom may have suggested that insufficiency of powers of the attorney generals may be one of the factors for ineffectiveness of the prosecutors to successfully prosecute money laundering cases. However, this dissertation found that on the contrary, there is no major consensus that providing more powers of attorney generals would make prosecutions more effective. To finally conclude this research, it may be reiterated that for the purpose of ensuring more success in money laundering prosecution, a multi agency and specialist driven approach must be adopted towards money laundering investigation. This will respond to the complex nature of financial crimes, which makes investigations into such crimes a difficult and challenging task for conventional investigative bodies like the police. It is also suggested that special courts must be set up in order to prosecute money laundering cases. This will ensure more timely and effective prosecution of money laundering cases. Finally, it is suggested that implementation of verdicts in money laundering cases is also an important objective for ensuring effectiveness of the response to prosecution of money laundering cases.

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