Suspicious International Transactions
As the world begins to increase communication to expose these illegal transactions, it will become easier to find those responsible.
By Sean Dame, Marketing —
Finding justice for an international crime can be a difficult chore, especially when trying to obtain information from non-domestic government agencies. In some cases, it can be impossible. Korea for example, has come to a point where it is requesting large amounts of information regarding money laundering from other Asian countries.
Big Discrepancies
Normally these types of interactions are handled case by case; however, with a large number of recent incidents, Korea has resorted to an international exchange of Suspicious Transaction Reports (STR) between Korea and six other countries. Recently, Korea has seen a 5:3 ratio of sending money versus receiving money in many of the large businesses. Alternatively, they have had a 2:3 ratio of sending versus receiving for small businesses. Clearly there have been some discrepancies in the business world and for that reason Korea has taken bigger steps to put a stop to the illegal transactions that are taking place.
In 2012, the Tax Justice Network released the top contenders for sums of money stashed abroad. China took first with over $1.2 billion USD, then Russia with $798 billion USD, and Korea in third with $779 billion USD. Given that fraud and tax evasion are very serious crimes, steps are being taken to ensure these amounts promptly decrease. By late 2017 the ability for Korea to exchange tax information with fifty other countries will be in effect.
Closing the Gap
Tax haven countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Virgin Islands are included in this list of fifty countries. Even with a common exchange of STR and federal information, the task, in many ways, is overwhelming due to the different methods by which these illegal transactions can take place, not to mention the countless locations. The US has also been in the loop looking to close a deal within the next year that would allow for taxation information to be openly shared between Korea and the US government.
As the world begins to increase communication to expose these illegal transactions, it will become easier to find those responsible. Korea has made it clear that those who come forward by their own choice will not be punished, but this is not the end solution. There needs to be stricter rules set to monitor these interactions.
Source
Photo courtesy of The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
