The need to launder illicit funds is an ongoing problem for criminals. With electronic monetary transactions dominating the day-to-day functioning of the financial system, criminals are inventing increasingly sophisticated means of hiding dirty money. The Financial Action Task Force - a specialist anti-money laundering agency - has put financial institutions and their employees on the frontline of the battle against money laundering. .

This tutorial surveys the money laundering situation in Ireland and explains the stages and ways in which money is laundered. It describes the best practices and legislation that financial institutions and other designated bodies need to follow to counter money laundering. The tutorial also looks at the growing problem of terrorist financing.

Objectives
On completion you will be able to:

• identify the purposes, methods and stages of the money laundering process
• recognise high-risk transactions and list best practices for countering money laundering
• outline anti-money laundering legislation and identify the role played by the relevant regulatory bodies
• identify how terrorists are financed and recognise the legislation to counter this funding