Part 1 - AL-Tax

International Taxation Handbook●●●●of a nominee or trustee who holds the assets for the benefit of the laundererand deals with the assets (and any income generated by them) in accordancewith the wishes of the launderer. In this way, the launderer is able toconceal ownership of the assets while continuing to have full enjoyment ofthose assets. The trustee may be a friend or relative and is inevitably someonewho is trusted by the launderer, does not have a criminal record, and isoften in good standing in society. Thus, the trustee’s ownership of the assetsis unlikely to attract unwelcome attention or raise suspicions. Apart fromreal property or high-value mobile assets such as cars and yachts, the proceedsto be laundered may be converted into gemstones, gold bullion andother precious metals, artwork, or antiques, which may more readily betransported out of the jurisdiction without being detected (FATF, 2003;Kennedy, 2005).Foreign currency transactions. The proceeds to be laundered may be convertedinto another currency, which can then be transferred by wire or evenphysically across borders.Identity theft. This is accomplished in such a way that the victims remainunaware of the fact that their identities are being used for criminal purposes.Within a short period of time, the stolen identity will be used to open bankaccounts, deposit and transfer monies, including to foreign jurisdictions.The accounts are generally closed after a few months and replaced by newidentities.Casinos. Large quantities of chips may be purchased with a certain amountplayed and the remaining chips redeemed for a cheque issued by the casino(Leong, 2004; Kennedy, 2005). To prevent the use of chips in this way to launderfunds, more and more casinos will only issue cheques for the amount ofwinnings. Increasingly, money launderers are turning to Internet casinos,which may have no or less strict anti-money-laundering measures thantheir ‘bricks and mortar’ counterparts (FATF, 2001).Deposits of less than the reportable threshold. This is perhaps the mostcommonly used method to launder money in more developed economies.The launderer may have his or her associates, friends, or relatives convertthe proceeds (often small-denominated notes or ‘street cash’) into largerdenominations for amounts less than $10,000 (which is typically thereportable threshold). Transactions below this threshold are not required tobe disclosed to the authorities, including the financial intelligence units ofthat country or other regulatory agencies tasked with combating moneylaundering.318