Council of Europe Adopts Resolution and Recommendation Against Global Money Laundering Schemes

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Saturday, April 20, 2019
Author: 
Michael Plachta
Volume: 
35
Issue: 
4
Abstract: 

At its 17th sitting held on April 11, 2019, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted Resolution and Recommendation on the international fight against organized crime, corruption, and money laundering. The debate as well as the Resolution and Recommendation were based on a comprehensive Report prepared by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights.The action undertaken by the Assembly and its organs was prompted by the “Global Laundromat” money laundering scheme, exposed by investigative journalists working for the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and used to transfer at least US$21 billion between 2010 and 2014 from shell companies in the Russian Federation to banks in 96 countries around the world.Another triggering mechanism was what has since become known as the “Azerbaijani Laundromat”, also exposed by the OCCRP (and others), which describe it as a “a complex money-laundering operation and slush fund that handled $2.9 billion over a two-year period through four shell companies registered in the UK.”