Money Laundering and the Proceeds of Crime

The pursuit of the financial proceeds of criminal activity has become a central theme of contemporary crime control. Initially conceived to tackle the global trade in illegal drugs, these methods have been more recently employed in the context of terrorism. This work offers a judicious account of the national and international strategies which seek to cope with crime by attacking its financial underpinnings. The book focuses on the increasingly civil legal orientation of these strategies - a sea change from criminal prosecutions to civil legal instruments. The author focuses on developments of the civil strategy in the US and the UK beginning with its historical origins. The work reveals the contradictions that animate the civil approach to criminal finance and discloses the failure of civil devices, as presently constituted, to comply with rights. It bridges the gap between two jurisdictions prominent in this area; the United States and the United Kingdom. This comparative element distinguishes the project from other work in the field that focuses on a single jurisdiction. Critical in its perspective, the work brings balance and reflection to an emergent area of national and international interest. Money Laundering and the Proceeds of Crime analyzes rather than merely describes the proceeds of crime laws, anti-money laundering regimes and the civil legal approach to criminal finance and as such will have a wide readership. The book will appeal to, amongst others, government actors involved in constructing instruments to confront criminal finance, scholars and researchers working in the area and banks, financial institutions, lawyers and other professional private actors charged with anti-money laundering functions.