We launder the city budget...

[Teacher]

Hello! Money laundering is a significant problem for any State and causes quite a bit of pain for those who carry it out. The procedure has several forms and stages, but in all cases it indicates one thing-people receive money in an illegal way and evade responsibility. Let's take a closer look at what this concept means and how money laundering looks in practice.

• Stages of money laundering
• Money laundering scheme
• Liability and disclosure methods
• How much do you have to pay and sit?

Stages of money laundering​

Money laundering is carried out in three stages:

1. Delamination. Initially, money obtained illegally is "diverted" from its real source. For this purpose, funds are withdrawn abroad, transferred to the accounts of individuals or legal entities.;
2. Placement. Funds are introduced into the legal cash flow by any available means. As a rule, at this stage, the attacker already has a fictitious confirmation of the source of their earnings;
3. Integration. This is the final stage when the appearance of legitimate possession of wealth is created. The owner of funds can freely withdraw them, transfer them to any account, purchase various items, real estate.

After completing three main stages, the money is re-invested in illegal activities. The process can be repeated an unlimited number of times or carried out once, to legalize a large amount and then spend it, for example, a bribe.

Sometimes some stages are skipped. For example, if the money was immediately credited to a bank account, its implementation is no longer required. But this is a risky step, as the bank will definitely ask about the origin of income and the account may be frozen without documentary confirmation. Also, integration is not always carried out, that is, the "laundered" money remains in different accounts and is used as needed. In some cases, the situation requires waiting for a certain period of time to start the third stage. But hiding the true source of funds and obfuscating traces is mandatory.

Money laundering scheme​

The bad guys are generally well-versed in all matters related to money laundering. Therefore, when one scheme is exposed, a new one is immediately developed.

The most famous ones:

• Through offshore companies. Even very large amounts of money can be laundered in this way. Through intermediaries in the countries of the" tax paradise", offshore accounts are opened, where money is transferred. They are then transferred to third-country bank accounts. There they can be stored, invested in real estate, securities or other objects. The use of offshore companies is a well-known method of money legalization, since the foreign exchange state control of these organizations simply does not exist. Plus, account holders are guaranteed anonymity.
• Via bitcoins. Wallets of bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies are not considered official means of payment in most countries and are anonymous. Therefore, they can easily be used to withdraw funds to any country, including those where you can use cryptocurrency in the same way as regular money-to pay for goods. The currency is transferred from the wallet to the bank account and converted into dollars, euros, etc.The original source of income is no longer known.
• Through a sole proprietor or organization. A very simple and relatively reliable scheme is running a fictitious business. Intermediaries open cafes, bars, a network of payment terminals, retail stores, etc. Regardless of the flow of real money received from customers, illegal money is introduced into the business. It is almost impossible to track and calculate them, and if taxes are paid on time and documentation is maintained, neither the bank through which funds are processed nor other regulatory authorities will be suspicious.
• Through capital structuring. Example: a large amount of money is divided into small shares that will not arouse suspicion from the tax service. Then they are transferred via bank cards to intermediaries, after which they withdraw them and transfer them to the original owner, but in cash, minus commission. For example, an amount of 10,000 rubles deposited to an individual's account/card is not suspicious. At the same time, you can open a card account in each bank and have 10, 20 or 30 of them.

Liability and disclosure methods​

The banking sector is the most vulnerable, as it is the main tool for moving money to offshore accounts, cryptocurrency wallets, and electronic money. Therefore, banks should know their customers, conduct their business honestly and transparently, and correctly identify financial risks. There are also cases when the management of financial institutions consisted of criminals actively laundering money. For this reason, the interaction of various authorities is very important, as it allows for tighter control over the work of banks.

Law No. 115-FZ "On Countering the Legalization of Proceeds from Crime and the Financing of Terrorism"has been in force on the territory of the Russian Federation since 7.08.2001. It allows banks to "freeze" accounts and conduct investigations about the occurrence of funds.

Formally, financial institutions check cash receipts for amounts exceeding 600 thousand rubles, as well as real estate transactions that exceed 3 million rubles. Employees of a banking institution are required to notify the Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring) about this. In addition, the law states that banks are strictly prohibited from opening bearer accounts, making transfers of more than 30 thousand rubles, as well as conducting currency exchange operations in the amount of 15 thousand rubles or more. without providing the client with a valid passport.

In practice, banks pay more attention — regular receipts of smaller, identical amounts (for example, receiving payment for unofficial housing rentals), one-time cash receipts, and/or transfers that exceed the usual limits are suspicious. For example, if an individual's account regularly receives a salary of 30 thousand rubles, after which a transfer of 300 thousand rubles is suddenly credited. When it is withdrawn to another account, the bank may require you to confirm the source of income, and, moreover, document it.

How much do you have to pay and sit?​

To prevent crimes in the Russian Federation, there are three main criminal articles under which violators are involved:

• Article 174 of the Criminal Code — legalization of money or other property acquired by criminal means.
• Article 174.1 of the Criminal Code — legalization of funds or other property acquired by a person as a result of committing a crime.
• Article 175 of the Criminal Code — acquisition or sale of property knowingly obtained by criminal means.

Depending on the nature of the transaction, other measures provided for in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are also used to prove the fact of money laundering.

According to the above-mentioned articles, there are different options for punishing the perpetrators:

• Recovery of a fine in the amount of 120 thousand rubles to 1 million rubles.
• Compulsory involvement in community service for a period of 24 to 60 months.
• Prison sentence — for a term of 2-7 years.
• Restriction of freedom without imprisonment — no more than 24 months.
• As an additional penalty, a ban on certain activities and penalties are sometimes applied.