HUMAN RIGHTS AND MONEY LAUNDERING: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTION REPORTS REGIME FROM A PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

A letter believed to be written by Benjamin Franklin in 1755 on behalf of the Pennsylvania Assembly noted that:
Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
While the ‘essential liberty’ in the letter was referring to the colonies’ right of self-governance, this statement is often quoted in surveillance and privacy-related pieces. This is normal because this quote perfectly explains the relationship between the privacy rights of individuals and the surveillance powers of law enforcement authorities.

The war against money laundering and underlying offences relies on information supplied by the financial industry filing their Suspicious Transaction Reports. The effectiveness of the Suspicious Transaction Reports regime is subject to a vivid debate. One problem of the reporting regime in most countries is the overwhelming number of unwarranted defensive reports bankers make. A significant problem leading reporters to make unwarranted disclosures is Anti-Money Laundering laws in breach of banking clients’ privacy rights.

This thesis defends that re-designing the Suspicious Transaction Reports regime in compliance with information privacy laws will increase the success in the fight against economic crime, criminal money and money laundering. Hence, it defends that those who fight for information privacy rights will also gain security.