• myGriffith
    • Staff portal
    • Contact Us⌄
      • Future student enquiries 1800 677 728
      • Current student enquiries 1800 154 055
      • International enquiries +61 7 3735 6425
      • General enquiries 07 3735 7111
      • Online enquiries
      • Staff phonebook
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • Griffith Theses
    • Theses - Higher Degree by Research
    • View Item
    • Home
    • Griffith Theses
    • Theses - Higher Degree by Research
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

  • All of Griffith Research Online
    • Communities & Collections
    • Authors
    • By Issue Date
    • Titles
  • This Collection
    • Authors
    • By Issue Date
    • Titles
  • Statistics

  • Most Popular Items
  • Statistics by Country
  • Most Popular Authors
  • Support

  • Contact us
  • FAQs
  • Admin login

  • Login
  • Effective Sentinels or Unwitting Money Launderers? The Policy Effectiveness of Combatting IllicitFinancial Flows Through Professional Facilitators (Lawyers, Accountants and Real Estate Agents).

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    Pol_2017_01Thesis.pdf (10.98Mb)
    Author(s)
    Pol, Ron
    Primary Supervisor
    Brown, Alexander
    Other Supervisors
    McDonnell, Duncan
    Year published
    2017
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    As ‘gatekeepers’ to the financial system, lawyers, accountants and real estate agents play an indispensible role, intentionally or unwittingly, when criminals use their services to facilitate real estate transactions with illicit funds. Recognised as a high-risk, high-value sector for money laundering, empirical research in this area is, however, scarce. The important question then becomes how effective is the policy objective to detect and deter money laundering through professional facilitators in the real estate market? This thesis answers that question with new empirical evidence drawn from New Zealand criminal proceeds ...
    View more >
    As ‘gatekeepers’ to the financial system, lawyers, accountants and real estate agents play an indispensible role, intentionally or unwittingly, when criminals use their services to facilitate real estate transactions with illicit funds. Recognised as a high-risk, high-value sector for money laundering, empirical research in this area is, however, scarce. The important question then becomes how effective is the policy objective to detect and deter money laundering through professional facilitators in the real estate market? This thesis answers that question with new empirical evidence drawn from New Zealand criminal proceeds real estate transactions facilitated by professionals. Unlike other countries where professionals are partly or wholly exempt from anti-money laundering regulations, obligations to detect and report suspicious real estate transactions have applied to professional facilitators in New Zealand since 1996, yet inexplicably there is almost no objective evidence in this area. This thesis uses primary sources including court records to fill a knowledge gap in the use of professionals enabling financial transactions with illicit funds. It concludes that policies to detect and deter laundering through professional facilitators achieved intended outcomes in just four percent of research cases over a 20-year period. It found that when presented with property transactions involving proceeds of crime, professionals were more often enablers than inhibitors.
    View less >
    Thesis Type
    Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
    Degree Program
    Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
    School
    Griffith Business School
    DOI
    https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/2691
    Copyright Statement
    The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise.
    Subject
    Money launderers
    Illicit financial flows
    Professional facilitators
    Publication URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10072/365748
    Collection
    • Theses - Higher Degree by Research

    Footer

    Disclaimer

    • Privacy policy
    • Copyright matters
    • CRICOS Provider - 00233E

    Tagline

    • Gold Coast
    • Logan
    • Brisbane - Queensland, Australia
    First Peoples of Australia
    • Aboriginal
    • Torres Strait Islander