Prosecuting and punishing the offence of money laundering in the Maltese criminal courts

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is that of examining the prosecution of the offence of money laundering in the Maltese Criminal Courts as well as the punishment which is to be handed down when a person is found guilty of having committed the offence of money laundering. Therefore the intention is that of determining how Maltese law is to be applied by the prosecution when prosecuting an offence of money laundering as well as determining the difficulties which the prosecution generally encounters when prosecuting money launderers. Chapter I entitled 'Money Laundering: A General Overview' gives an introduction to the subject matter. A brief explanation of what the offence of money laundering is as well as from where it originated is given. In addition, Chapter 1 also highlights the various schemes which are adopted by money launderers in order to commit such an offence. Chapter II entitled 'Anti-Money Laundering Legislations and Institutions' gives an overview of the domestic laws which regulate the offence of money laundering. Then it goes to examine the role and functions of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit which has a key role in combating such an offence. Chapter III entitled 'Prosecuting the Offence of Money Laundering' deals with how the investigation with regards to such an offence is generally commenced as well as who can be accused with the offence of money laundering . This chapter also examines the powers of the Attorney General as well as those of the Court. Chapter IV entitled 'Legal Grounds for Prosecuting the Offence of Money Laundering' deals with what the prosecution needs to prove in order to obtain a conviction for a money laundering offence. Thus the terms suspicion and knowledge are defined as well as compared. This chapter also examines whether the prosecution needs to prove the predicate offence before accusing a person with the offence of money laundering and whether the shifting of the burden of proof from the prosecution on to the accused, which is catered for in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, goes against Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Chapter V entitled 'Handing down punishment: is there uniformity in the Maltese Criminal Courts?' entails a study on the various judgments which were delivered by the Maltese Courts as well as the punishment which had been handed down. Thus, such judgments are compared in order to determine whether there is consistency and whether there should be a set of guidelines which the courts should refer to when handing down such judgments. Finally, the conclusion wraps up the various arguments made throughout the thesis and what can be done in order to facilitate the work of the prosecution. Hence, I have stated my opinion with regards to changes which could be made vis-à-vis the law as well as the procedure.