Illicit finance and money laundering trends in Eurasia

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to review recent examples of sophisticated money laundering operations involving financial institutions in Eurasia, including Russia and Moldova, and the resulting flow of licit and illicit capital from that part of the world to the UK, the USA, and other Western countries. Design/methodology/approach - Relying on materials from publicly available sources, the study uses several case studies to illustrate various money laundering methods with a view toward identifying common elements and aspects of the schemes that might be considered new or innovative. Findings - In particular, the study examines the roles that lax anti-money laundering compliance by financial institutions and the use of shell corporations designed to conceal the beneficial ownership of the companies and their assets have played in virtually all of the money laundering schemes. Originality/value - The paper discusses the risks that these emerging money laundering methods pose to Western countries and their financial institutions and the approaches that governments might take to minimize those risks and raise the barriers for the laundering of illicit funds within their jurisdictions.