1,721,064 research outputs found
Implications of anti-money laundering law for accountancy in the European Union : a comparative study
No full textExamines the role of accountants in relation to anti-money laundering (AML) legislation in the European Union and provides a comparative study and literature review of AML legislative preventative measures. National legislation in these jurisdictions will be critiqued against the Third Money Laundering Directive requirements and Financial Action Task Force recommendations as well as the proposed fourth EU anti-money laundering legislation. The scope of the chapter includes, inter alia, the criminalisation of money laundering, recording and reporting obligations for accountants, and the enforcement and sanctions mechanisms within selected AML regimes. In order to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the AML within the EU, it is important for the government authorities to coordinate their efforts with the relevant accountancy regulatory bodies and provide a secure environment in which suspicious activities can be reported effectively. This chapter also comments on whether a well-established dialogue and coordination exist between accountancy regulatory bodies and law enforcement agencies
Tax Fraud Investigation Framework:Tax Crimes and Enforcement in the European Union: Solutions for Law, Policy, and Practice
Full text linkOne of key obstacles to timely and effective cross-border tax fraud investigations stems from the disparate approaches found across Europe. The Tax Fraud Investigation Framework (TFIF) is a toolkit developed within the PROTAX project. Since one of the aims of this book is to offer practical and user-friendly solutions for key stakeholders in tax enforcement, this chapter is devoted to the TFIF, which combines expertise from academia and law enforcement practitioners. The TFIF is designed to harmonize and support law and tax enforcement agencies in order to facilitate successful investigations and prosecutions against tax fraud at national and transnational levels. It aims at promoting: (i) a consistent and logical procedural approach to countering tax fraud at national and EU levels; (ii) common methods and techniques for investigating and prosecuting tax fraud; (iii) a harmonized standard for working across different agencies (multi-agency working) at national and EU levels; (iv) best practices in order to prevent and counter tax fraud by discouraging the criminals from expanding into new fraud ventures; (v) savings of time and resources during cross-jurisdictional legal analysis thus enhancing initial investigation; (vi) effective pathways for transforming information to intelligence and to build an effective response to transnational VAT fraud; (vii) information on the different types of evidence necessary for securing a conviction in selected EU Member States
Independence and protection of auditors in the EU anti-money laundering framework
Full text linkThis chapter examines the role of Information Systems (IS) in creating financial instability by automating critical decision-making processes. By following a systems theoretical approach after Lee and Demetis (2016) and based on a few fundamental systems principles, the chapter identifies theoretical propositions about the nature of technology in constructing financial markets, and by extension, financial crises. The chapter draws from a few instances of the Dow Jones Industrial Average crisis of 2010, also known as the Flash Crash of 2:45 where $1trillion was lost in market value within a few minutes. This is used as an example of technology out of control where algorithmic trading creates contingencies that affect how different stakeholders interact and re-act. Based on the entanglement of systems principles and technological interference, the main hypothesis that is developed in this chapter is that technology is largely set to lead in the creation of future instabilities and amplify the degree of uncertainty in markets. Ultimately, this aims to highlight the broader role of technology in the financial system, not as a tool that can be strictly harnessed to support transacting, but as a system in itself that has both emergent and unintended consequences, one of which escalates to the concept of a financial crisis
Public Interest Disclosure and Whistleblower Protection:Tax Crimes and Enforcement in the European Union: Solutions for Law, Policy, and Practice
Full text linkThis chapter examines the germane issues affecting the use of whistleblowing to support the fight against tax crime in the EU. One of the proven ways to address the problem of tax crime is the use of whistleblowing as a crime discovery tool to complement the efforts of LEAs. The EU’s PROTAX project established that whistleblowing/public interest disclosure facilitates the mitigation of tax crimes such as tax evasion and VAT fraud in the EU. However, whistleblowers have been exposed to the risk of retaliation, which has the propensity to dissuade them from engaging in necessary disclosures to protect the public interest. Although the EU has since 17 December 2019 introduced a Whistleblower Protection Directive (WBPD) to enhance the protection of whistleblowers from many detriments, it is yet to be seen the extent to which the WBPD will be successfully operationalized. Even when implemented in its current shape, the WBPD has deficits including lack of clear sanctions for organizational breaches and evasive material scope. In addressing the challenges and deficits, the chapter also provides enquiry-based toolkit for effective whistleblower protection. The chapter concludes that although the WBPD remains challenged by procedural and substantive inadequacies, which can be addressed by collaborative efforts of all stakeholders, the Directive will significantly improve the legal protection mechanisms for whistleblowers in ways that can support the fight against tax crime in the EU
Conclusion:Tax Crimes and Enforcement in the European Union: Solutions for Law, Policy, and Practice
Full text linkThis concluding chapter highlights the efforts put into reducing tax crimes. It starts with the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on budget deficits and optimisation of tax collection and reducing the tax gap. The Anti-Money Laundering (AML) framework and anti-tax fraud framework in the EU laid the foundation for future legislation and policy to counter tax crimes across Europe. Case studies, focus groups, and workshops found that interagency and international cooperation in fighting tax crimes fronted significant constraints, such as data exchange, joint investigations, collaborative asset confiscations, and sanctions. The chapter then discusses the findings from the PROTAX project to expound its point on legal regimes being made across Europe. It suggests that developing a holistic tax enforcement eco-system is needed instead of just tinkering with legal provisions
The Legal and Institutional Analysis of Tax Crimes from EU and Comparative Perspectives:Tax Crimes and Enforcement in the European Union: Solutions for Law, Policy, and Practice
Full text linkThe fight against tax crimes and other financial crimes such as corruption requires a combination of national and cross-border use of relevant laws and institutions. Nonetheless, it is necessary to address the deficiencies in individual and collaborative arrangements and find out if and what strengths therein can be exploited by the EU Member States. Using socio-legal and comparative research methodologies, this chapter addresses the above issues through exploring the relevant EU legal instruments as well as institutions that seek to counter crime against the financial interests of the EU and its Member States. A careful look at the EU’s counter financial crime ecosystem reveals that Directive (EU) 2017/1371 (PIF Directive) and Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 (the EPPO Directive) are part of a cocktail of progressive measures by the EU to tackle financial crime. Although most EU Member States have agreed to criminalize VAT fraud and related crimes, VAT against the financial interest of the EU is still pervasive. Also, a comparative study of the legal framework of the EU Member States involving definitions, prosecution routes, sanctions, and liability of both natural and legal entities for tax crimes shows not only the pervasiveness of tax crimes but also the disparities and similarities of approaches in countering these crimes. The chapter concludes that EU criminal policy on financial matters needs to be enhanced including the extension of the criminalization to VAT fraud under ten million euro and an active role of the EPPO with reference to these offences
EU Energy Relations With Russia - Solidarity and the Rule of Law
No full textThis monograph provides a detailed analysis of the legal framework against which the energy trade between the European Union (EU) and the Russian Federation (Russia) has been conducted. In doing so the author critically examines the EU’s ability and the duty of its Member States to conduct its external energy trade in solidarity. In addition, the book assesses whether and to what extent the current EU – Russia energy trade is conducted within the confines of a rule based system. In order to illustrate the arguments, the relevant legal instruments, jurisprudence and a number of EU Member State practices are utilised. It is concluded that principle of solidarity is not a mere idea but an explicit legal requirement which is embedded in the acquis communautaire of the EU therefore it shall be observed. However, the external energy trade policies across the EU indicate that Member States do not act in solidarity when it comes to external energy trade with Russia. Furthermore, the overall framework for EU – Russia energy trade does not amount to one that is based on the rule of law as it lacks a number of essential elements inter alia an independent adjudication, effective and predictable legal redress and enforcement mechanisms. These characteristics coupled with the recent crisis in EU – Russia relations expose the EU Single Market and its citizens to risk and uncertainty. <br/
Tax Crimes and Illicit Money Flows in the EUs: Comparison and Key Findings
Full text linkThe European Union (EU) is one of the attractive jurisdictions for illicit money flows (IMFs) in the world. This is due to structural weaknesses and a comparatively stable economic and political environment in the EU. Criminals engaged in IMFs use sophisticated methods such as trusts, shell companies, and VAT carousel to commit crimes such as money laundering and tax crimes. The link between tax crimes and other IMFs is built on the principle that financial criminals will ensure that their criminal proceeds are safely placed, layered, and integrated into the legitimate financial system. In all these processes, as usually associated with money laundering, the proceeds are susceptible to tax crimes since the criminals would evade payment of taxes in most cases. Using case studies in eleven European States, this chapter maps the variety of main legal approaches to countering tax crime in these jurisdictions. Despite EU’s efforts to unify counter-crime measures in its Member States, the national legal frameworks and institutional settings produce different approaches to tackling tax crimes. This chapter concludes that effective domestic and international cooperation in approaches towards mitigating tax crimes and IMFs are evermore needed
Financial Crises and Financial Crime:“Transformative understandings” of Crime, Past Present and Future
Full text linkAnti-Bribery and Corruption: Perceptions, Risks and Practice for UK Banks
No full textCorruption is a serious economic, social, political, legal and moral problem found in many contexts from sports (i.e. doping in athletics and FIFA scandals) to banking practices (i.e. LIBOR, Dark Pool) and international trade (i.e. the BAE bribery enquiries). Past studies in this field indicate that the risk corruption poses to society at large varies from country to country and is difficult to quantify. Such risk is generally calculated in light of public’s perception of the level of public sector corruption in a given society, but there have been studies which also indicate that economic freedom, socio-political stability, tradition of law abidance and national cultures are the major variables that dictate the degree of corruption. Past research findings both by the academia and policy makers link corruption to poor economic growth, low political stability, lack of transparency and accountability to which liberalisation, privatisation and democratisation are offered as preferred policy responses. The literature review also reveals that there is limited legal analysis of this phenomenon. The author takes the view that the narrow focus on developing countries has obscured more subtle yet costly manifestations of corruption in rich and democratic (developed) countries and as a result the risk of corruption in so-called developed countries is overlooked. This chapter expands the existing knowledge about the determinants of corruption as it focuses on the United Kingdom (UK) where democracy, economic liberalisation and the rule of law are arguably well-established principles in public office generally and in financial transactions particularly. Firstly, this chapter analyses how the UK’s legal instruments address the crime of corruption. Secondly, the risks that bribery and the legal compliance requirements pose for banks are commented on. Finally, a number of good practice proposals are considered and evaluated
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