At the beginning of the millennium, the fight against money laundering features very high on the international, and in many countries, also on the domestic, political agenda. The speed with which norm-makers have put in place a set of legal rules designed to fight the laundering of the proceeds, first from drug trafficking, and, later on, of the proceeds from many other criminal activities as well, is impressive. There is of course more than one explanation for the high level of attention the subject of money laundering is receiving. The vigorousness with which authorities beat the drum of the fight against money laundering should of course be set against the backdrop of the widespread concern about the phenomenon of organized crime, and in particular organized drug trafficking, and may in part also be attributable to international pressure. At the same time, however, the eagerness of legislators to adopt rules to combat money laundering also betrays an implicit, though (apparently very) strong, belief in the effectiveness of these rules. The anti-money laundering regulations are apparently looked upon as a very powerful instrument against various forms of acquisitive crime.

It is the burden of this book to investigate whether the set of legal rules that have been put in place on an international and domestic level to curb money laundering can indeed make an effective contribution to the fight against money laundering and, if these rules prove to be unsatisfactory, how deficiencies can be remedied. The book aims to provide an extensive discussion of the legal framework for money laundering and the main legal problems that may arise in the implementation of these rules.