Money Laundering and Illicit Financial Flows: Following the Money and Value Trails

by John Cassara

Outside of crimes of passion, criminals, criminal organizations, kleptocrats, and some businesses and corporations are motivated by greed. In today’s increasingly interconnected world, the criminal manifestations of unchecked avarice impact all of us – politically, socially, economically, and culturally. Transnational crime effects our individual and collective security. The magnitude of crime is measured in the multi-trillions of dollars annually. Laundering or hiding and disguising the proceeds of crime is essential for criminal organizations. Unfortunately, the last thirty years have demonstrated that our anti-money laundering (AML) countermeasures are not effective. Examining the “metrics that matter,” we are a “decimal point away from total failure.” The outlook going forward is not promising. Money Laundering and Illicit Financial Flows – Following the Money and Value Trails is the first book to take a hard look at our AML track record. Written primarily from a law enforcement perspective, the book examines old and new money laundering methodologies. It exposes threats, enablers, and facilitators. Making the case for an AML paradigm shift, the book offers alternative steps forward. Combining facts, straight-forward explanations, case studies, as well as the author’s personal experiences, views and commentary, this book is valuable to the public and private sectors, policy makers, as well as students and concerned citizens. As a former Treasury Special Agent, John Cassara has investigated and studied money laundering for over 30 years. Equally at home in back streets or government bureaucracies, he has a unique perspective and offers an insider’s knowledge. He delights in telling it as it is. The author of five books and countless articles on money laundering and threat finance, Cassara continues to surface important issues that deserve our attention.

373 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 14, 2020

Reviews

[Kent Stratton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should you need to know more about money laundering, this is a pretty good primer from a federal law enforcement perspective. Minus one star for typos.

[Parker]

For anyone who is interested in learning more about money laundering and law enforcement, particularly those who are new to the topic, I would recommend reading this book. This is an experienced law enforcement officer's commentary on money laundering and illicit finance, and should be read as such. Apart from intermittent grammatical errors, this is an easy and accessible read.

[Lukas Wirz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book bears all the hallmarks of being quickly and cheaply written and produced: An inflated and imprecise style style of writing, repetitions, and many pages that contribute nothing to the topic. Not to mention the typesetting/choice of a sans serif font that is the worst I have seen in long time (this may be limited to the printed edition).
There are interesting points in the book, but they could easily be fit in a much shorter book, saving the reader a lot of time.

[Ola Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for any financial crimes compliance professional!