Cambridge Dictionary defines money laundering as “the crime of moving money that has been obtained illegally through banks and other businesses to make it seem as if the money has been obtained illegally.”
Mr. Chitaranjan Aggarwal is a reputed Chartered Accountant, who delivered the Guest Lecture on this topic. With the number of Enforcement Directorate investigations relating to money laundering in India increasing by the day, it was an extremely relevant and illuminating session.
Money laundering as a prominent practice originated in the 1920s as a response by the Mafia to the government’s prohibition policy (for alcohol) in USA. Through the ages, new-fangled techniques including Smurfing, Postal and Electronic transfer of funds, Co mingling of funds and the advent of Cryptocurrency for this process have evolved. Each of these methods is more refined than the other and hence it becomes extremely challenging to catch the wrongdoers.
Inspite of the numerous legislations like FEMA, COFEPOSA 1974, Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, Black Money & Undisclosed Foreign Income Act 2015 and Benami Properties Transaction Act 2016- the list of offenders is getting longer by the day. Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, Robert Vadra, K Chidambram and Chanda Kocchar are only a few of the names of reputable people that we hear in this context. Money laudering does not always have a personal vendetta, but is often politically motivated and is central to combating financial terrorism.
The major challenges in tackling the insurmountable issue of money laundering were discussed. Some of these were the lack of trained officials in the Financial Intelligence Units and lawyers to deal with cases relating to the same in India.
The knowledge imparted by Mr. Chitaranjan Aggarwal (not to mention- the occasional jovial gestures towards his friend ‘Baji’ sir and the Tom Cruise references) as well as the inquisitiveness and participation of the audience made it a successful session for everyone.
Written by Samridhi Seth (1st year)
