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Why Do I Think It Is A Macroeconomics Issue?

Decent Essays

Money laundering
Why do I think it is a macroeconomics issue?
Macroeconomics is a science that studies nature, relationships and behaviour of economic aggregates: national income, total consumption expenditure, total employment and the general price level (Dwivedi, 2010, p.7). In macroeconomics money is considered as a critical element playing the role of encouraging the trading of goods and services. The term "Money laundering" is used to describe an illegal way of putting money in circulation which is not authorised by lawful powers of the country (Nkumunue, 2014, p.143). In 1997 Quirk showed that money laundering involves huge sums relative to overall economic activity, it has caused some negative impacts on the macro-economy (Quirk, …show more content…

A well-known example: In the HSBC Swiss bank account scandal, the organisation had assisted their wealthy clients with tax evading, involving 106,000 clients in 203 countries and assets worth $118bn. In 2015, the scandal was revealed by a whistle-blower and put under investigation. The media described it as one of the biggest leaks in banking history (Bowler, 2015).
Possible policy implications
Over the decades, IMF (International Monetary Fund) has provided governments across the world with practical assistance to tackle money laundering. As a result, many countries around the world have reformulated laws governing central banking, commercial banking, and foreign exchange with the intention to prevent money laundering (Quirk, 1997, p.8). Furthermore, the cooperation between IMF and FATF (Financial Action Task Force) has also played an important role on combating money laundering (Schneider & Windischbauer, 2008).
Because money laundering has impacted macro-economy significantly, governments will need to implement effective anti-money laundering policies to fight the crime.
Many countries have already reformulated their banking regulations with technical assistance provided by the IMF. In 1997 Quirk claimed "It may be more appropriate to set up separate banking laws and regulations covering reporting requirements for non-prudential purposes than to include such requirements in core banking laws and

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