Prevention Of Money Laundering: A Global Panorama

Various international organizations and multilateral agencies have given their respective description to the term 'Money Laundering'. The essence is same but on a comparative reading there are some variations. The global police watchdog "INTERPOL" (International Police) defines it as "any act or attempted act to conceal or disguise the identity of illegally obtained proceeds so that they appear to have originated from legitimate sources"¹; the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime ('UNODC')² identifies 'Money Laundering' as "the method by which criminals disguise the illegal origins of their wealth and protect their asset bases, so as to avoid the suspicion of law enforcement agencies and prevent leaving a trail of incriminating evidence". Albeit, number of initiatives were taken by some major international organisations to prevent money laundering, the creation of Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering ('FATF') in 1989, brought about the much needed