Much of the literature on the topic of money laundering covers a range of issues, some of which are very specific (e.g. money laundering in the real estate sector and anti-money laundering initiatives in the European Union) or deal with particular dimensions of money laundering, (e.g. money laundering and technology and the scale and impacts of money laundering). Bajada and Opena, however, take a much broader approach to the subject, providing a comprehensive overview of money laundering activities, with specific links to the various illegal acts that are considered to be the drivers of such (e.g. piracy, smuggling, drug, trafficking, shadow economy activities, etc). These drivers are normally written on independently of money laundering activities and often with limited reference. The authors present a comprehensive measure of global money flows and a country level analysis, the social and economic consequences of money laundering and its impact on public policy, and they conclude with a review of the current anti-money laundering strategies and an evaluation of their likely success in curbing such activities. In this way, this guide is novel and will be relevant to practitioners and government agencies/policymakers, commercial organisations, such as banks and other financial institutions, as well as academics, wanting to understand the interconnection between these illegal activities and money laundering and ways to effectively address the same. It will take a national and international perspective.
About the Author: Christopher Bajada is an Associate Professor of Economics and Associate Dean. He started his teaching career at the University of New South Wales, from which he holds a PhD. He has taught economics in a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. In recognition of his teaching, Chris was awarded a national teaching citation award. His research is primarily in applied macroeconomics, with a special interest in tax compliance. He has worked with the Australian Taxation Office as a member of the Cash Economy Task Force. Roderick Opena holds a Masters in Forensic Accounting from the University of Wollongong, Australia. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in Commerce with a major in Accounting from the University of Santo Tomas (Philippines) and MBA from De La Salle University (Philippines). Erick is currently in Business School administration at University of Technology Sydney, where he also teaches Accounting.