Money laundering through consulting firms

The aim of this article is to illustrate potential conduits for money laundering in the consulting sector in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. A qualitative content analysis of 100 semi-standardized expert interviews with both criminals and prevention experts was conducted, along with a quantitative survey of 200 compliance officers, allowing for the identification of concrete methods of money laundering in the consulting sector. Due to their excellent reputation, consulting companies in German-speaking countries in Europe continue to be extraordinarily attractive to money launderers. Most notably, they can be used for layering and integration, as well as for working around various issues with tax codes. As the qualitative findings are based on semi-standardized interviews, they are limited to only the 100 interviewees’ perspectives. The identification of loopholes and weaknesses in the current anti-money laundering mechanisms is meant to provide compliance officers, law enforcement agencies, and legislators with valuable insights into how criminals operate, with the aim of helping them to more effectively combat money laundering. While the previous literature focuses on organizations fighting money laundering and on the improvement of anti-money laundering measures, this article illustrates how money launderers operate to avoid arrest. Prevention methods and criminal perspectives are equally taken into account

Ungeschriebene Grenzen der Rückwirkung von Rechtssätzen in der Schweiz : unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Rückwirkungsformel des Bundesgerichts

Rückwirkende Normen gelten im Prinzip als verpönt. Das Bundesgericht hat für die Bedürfnisse der Praxis gestützt auf Art. 4 aBV dennoch Voraussetzungen aufgestellt, unter welchen rückwirkende Normen ausnahmsweise zulässig sind (Grundlage im Gesetz, triftige Gründe, mässige Rückwirkungsdauer, Beachtung der Rechtsgleichheit und der wohlerworbenen Rechte). Diese Praxis ist seit 1966 unangetastet geblieben. Das erstaunt, weil sie mit vielen Unklarheiten behaftet ist. Es fragt sich namentlich, inwiefern sich die bundesgerichtliche Formel von den ohnehin geltenden allgemeinen Voraussetzungen staatlichen Handelns unterscheidet. Die Untersuchung geht der Rückwirkungsthematik eingehend nach und unterzieht die bundesgerichtliche Rechtsprechung einer kritischen Analyse. Sie richtet sich an den Praktiker, der mit intertemporalen Fragen konfrontiert ist, und bietet zugleich Wege für eine theoretische Einbettung der Grenzen der Rückwirkung an

Money laundering through consulting firms

The aim of this article is to illustrate potential conduits for money laundering in the consulting sector in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. A qualitative content analysis of 100 semi-standardized expert interviews with both criminals and prevention experts was conducted, along with a quantitative survey of 200 compliance officers, allowing for the identification of concrete methods of money laundering in the consulting sector. Due to their excellent reputation, consulting companies in German-speaking countries in Europe continue to be extraordinarily attractive to money launderers. Most notably, they can be used for layering and integration, as well as for working around various issues with tax codes. As the qualitative findings are based on semi-standardized interviews, they are limited to only the 100 interviewees’ perspectives. The identification of loopholes and weaknesses in the current anti-money laundering mechanisms is meant to provide compliance officers, law enforcement agencies, and legislators with valuable insights into how criminals operate, with the aim of helping them to more effectively combat money laundering. While the previous literature focuses on organizations fighting money laundering and on the improvement of anti-money laundering measures, this article illustrates how money launderers operate to avoid arrest. Prevention methods and criminal perspectives are equally taken into account

Money laundering through consulting firms

The aim of this article is to illustrate potential conduits for money laundering in the consulting sector in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. A qualitative content analysis of 100 semi-standardized expert interviews with both criminals and prevention experts was conducted, along with a quantitative survey of 200 compliance officers, allowing for the identification of concrete methods of money laundering in the consulting sector. Due to their excellent reputation, consulting companies in German-speaking countries in Europe continue to be extraordinarily attractive to money launderers. Most notably, they can be used for layering and integration, as well as for working around various issues with tax codes. As the qualitative findings are based on semi-standardized interviews, they are limited to only the 100 interviewees’ perspectives. The identification of loopholes and weaknesses in the current anti-money laundering mechanisms is meant to provide compliance officers, law enforcement agencies, and legislators with valuable insights into how criminals operate, with the aim of helping them to more effectively combat money laundering. While the previous literature focuses on organizations fighting money laundering and on the improvement of anti-money laundering measures, this article illustrates how money launderers operate to avoid arrest. Prevention methods and criminal perspectives are equally taken into account

Le droit au suicide médicalement assisté: Regard sur le droit suisse, du Benelux et de la Cour EDH

Cette contribution illustre le cadre légal suisse de l’aide médicale au suicide et des conditions d’octroi de Natrium Pentobarbital (NaP) notamment au regard du CP, de la LStup, de la LPTh et de la LPMéd, ainsi que le cadre réglementaire suisse actuel. Elle se penche aussi sur les traits saillants des systèmes du Benelux en matière de suicide assisté et de soins palliatifs dans le but d’examiner le potentiel de développement du système actuel en Suisse. -- In diesem Beitrag werden die rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen in der Schweiz für den ärztlich assistierten Suizid und die Voraussetzungen für die Abgabe von Natrium-Pentobarbital (NaP) dargestellt, insbesondere im Hinblick auf das StGB, das BetmG, das HMG und das MedBG. Ausserdem werden die wesentlichen Merkmale der Benelux-Systeme der Sterbehilfe und der Palliativversorgung untersucht, um das Potenzial für die Entwicklung des derzeitigen Schweizer Systems zu prüfen

Enhanced biofilm formation by Escherichia coli LPS mutants defective in hep biosynthesis

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is the major component of the surface of Gram-negative bacteria and its polysaccharide portion is situated at the outermost region. We investigated the relationship between the polysaccharide portion of LPS and biofilm formation using a series of Escherichia coli mutants defective in genes earlier shown to affect the LPS sugar compositions. Biofilm formation by a deep rough LPS mutant, the hldE strain, was strongly enhanced in comparison with the parental strain and other LPS mutants. The hldE strain also showed a phenotype of increased auto-aggregation and stronger cell surface hydrophobicity compared to the wild-type. Similar results were obtained with another deep rough LPS mutant, the waaC strain whose LPS showed same molecular mass as that of the hldE strain. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) analysis and biofilm formation assay using DNase I revealed that biofilm formation by the hldE strain was dependent on extracellular DNA. Furthermore, a loss of flagella and an increase in amount of outer membrane vesicles in case of the hldE strain were also observed by transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, respectively. In addition, we demonstrated that a mutation in the hldE locus, which alters the LPS structure, caused changes in both expression and properties of several surface bacterial factors involved in biofilm formation and virulence. We suggest that the implication of these results should be considered in the context of biofilm formation on abiotic surfaces, which is frequently associated with nosocominal infections such as the catheter-associated infections

Effect of Alirocumab on Mortality After Acute Coronary Syndromes An Analysis of the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES Randomized Clinical Trial

10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.038840CIRCULATION1402103-11