Money
laundering can be defined in a number of ways. But the fundamental concept of
Money laundering is the process by which proceeds from a criminal activity are
disguised to conceal their illicit origins. Most countries subscribe to the
definition adopted by the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (the Vienna Convention, 1988) and
the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (the
Palermo Convention, 2000). The definition of money laundering as per the above
UN Convention is as follows:
·
The conversion or transfer of property,
knowing that such property is derived from any offense, e.g. drug trafficking,
or offenses or from an act of participation in such offense or offenses, for
the purpose of concealing or disguising the illicit origin of the property or
of assisting any person who is involved in the commission of such an offense or
offenses to evade the legal consequences of his actions;
·
The concealing or disguising of the true
nature, source, location, disposition, movement, rights with respect to, or
ownership of property, knowing that such property is derived from an offense or
offenses or from an act of participation in such an offense or offenses, and;
·
The acquisition, possession or use of
property, knowing at the time of receipt that such property was derived from an
offense or offenses or from an act of participation in such offense or
offenses.
The
Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), which is recognized as
the international standard setter for anti-money laundering (AML) efforts,
defines the term “money laundering” succinctly as “the processing of criminal
proceeds to disguise their illegal origin in order to legitimize the ill-gotten
gains of crime.
”
According to the Section 2 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012 -
“Money Laundering” means –
(i) knowingly move, convert, or transfer
proceeds of crime or property involved in an offence for the following
purposes:
(1)
concealing or disguising the illicit origin/nature, source, location, ownership
or control of the proceeds of crime; or
(2) assist any person for evading the legal
consequences of his or her action who is involved in the commission of the
predicate offence;
(iii)
knowingly transfer or remit the proceeds of crime into or out of Bangladesh
with the intention of hiding or disguising its illegal source;
(iv) conclude or attempt to conclude financial
transactions in such a manner as to avoid reporting requirement under this
Ordinance.
(v) convert or movement or transfer property
with the intention to instigate or assist the carrying out of a predicate
offence;
(vi)
acquire, possess or use property, knowing that such property is the proceeds of
a predicate offence;
or
(vii) perform such activities so that illegal source of the proceeds of crime
may be concealed or disguised; or
(viii) participate in, associate with,
conspire to commit, attempt to commit or abet, instigate or counsel to commit
any offences mentioned above.