Activity 5
Discussion on Money Laundering
All the participants should prepare beforehand.
Reading material: The Economist - July 26th 1997, the articles "Cleaning up dirty money", "Money laundering" and "Next, cyberlaundering?". You are also expected to look for some more materials on the Web.
I suggest the following areas of discussion:
1. Defining what money laundering is and the harm it does to all spheres of life - use data.
2. Opposing view - it is not so important where money comes from. After all "money launderers do not leave heaps of dead in their wake".
3. Money laundering is a second-order problem. Define the No1 problem - drugs.
4. Measures taken by countries, governments and other organisations (e.g. the Phare project on money laundering)
5. Difficulties in fighting money laundering.
6. Mention the new forms of money - the Electronic money and anticipated problems (for more information visit "Money Laundering, Electronic Cash and Cryptological Anonymity" by J.Orlin Grabbe. See the Electronic Finance 101 section( - explain how taking control over technology and using it will enhance personal freedom, and doesn't it contradict the idea to be able to trace all financial transactions in order to fight crime).
7. A new law on money laundring is being drafted in Bulgaria - do we need it?
Choose a topic and write down in the space provided. Posting your viewpoint you will go to the Virtual Conference Centre where the discussion will be held.
