Orchestrating the fight against anonymous incorporation: A field experiment

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Author(s)
Findley, Michael
Nielson, Daniel
Sharman, JC
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2015
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The world’s leading governments fight money laundering and terrorist financing through the intergovernmental FATF. To prevent anonymous incorporation, an important FATF rule requires that private corporate-service providers demand certified identification documents when incorporating new companies. But serious questions arise over the FATF’s effectiveness at inducing compliance with this rule. To investigate, this study employs a randomized field experiment. Using aliases and posing as consultants, we sent requests for confidential incorporation to corporate-service providers in 180 countries. We informed them about FATF ...
View more >The world’s leading governments fight money laundering and terrorist financing through the intergovernmental FATF. To prevent anonymous incorporation, an important FATF rule requires that private corporate-service providers demand certified identification documents when incorporating new companies. But serious questions arise over the FATF’s effectiveness at inducing compliance with this rule. To investigate, this study employs a randomized field experiment. Using aliases and posing as consultants, we sent requests for confidential incorporation to corporate-service providers in 180 countries. We informed them about FATF rules, invoked a threat of legal penalties (hierarchy), and appealed to global norms (collaboration). A fourth condition attributed the standards to a private intermediary, the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists. We found that ACAMS significantly increased compliance compared to the other conditions; information about FATF rules, penalties and norms did not significantly reduce the ease of anonymous incorporation. The results measure the relative ability of an orchestrator and a complementary intermediary to affect target behavior. Together, these factors predict orchestration: a case study reveals that the FATF strongly endorses private certification bodies.
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View more >The world’s leading governments fight money laundering and terrorist financing through the intergovernmental FATF. To prevent anonymous incorporation, an important FATF rule requires that private corporate-service providers demand certified identification documents when incorporating new companies. But serious questions arise over the FATF’s effectiveness at inducing compliance with this rule. To investigate, this study employs a randomized field experiment. Using aliases and posing as consultants, we sent requests for confidential incorporation to corporate-service providers in 180 countries. We informed them about FATF rules, invoked a threat of legal penalties (hierarchy), and appealed to global norms (collaboration). A fourth condition attributed the standards to a private intermediary, the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists. We found that ACAMS significantly increased compliance compared to the other conditions; information about FATF rules, penalties and norms did not significantly reduce the ease of anonymous incorporation. The results measure the relative ability of an orchestrator and a complementary intermediary to affect target behavior. Together, these factors predict orchestration: a case study reveals that the FATF strongly endorses private certification bodies.
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Book Title
International Organizations as Orchestrators
Copyright Statement
© 2015 Cambridge University Press. This material has been published as Orchestrating the fight against anonymous incorporation: A field experiment by Michael G. Findley, Daniel Nielson and Jason Sharman. This version is free to view and download for personal use only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works.
Subject
International relations