Friday, October 17, 2003

No real risk for money laundering in electronic payment systems !

Today, Ton Schudelaro will defend his dissertation on electronic payment systems and money laundering (see this Dutch press-release). His work is voluminous and provides a good overview of the topic. His analysis is brief and clear: there is far too much of a hype about money laundering in new electronic payment systems. Reality is that current countermeasures are sufficient and illegal whitewashing is not a real threat. This analysis nicely counterbalances the fear-driven Financial Action Task Force Fraud measures.