Domino implications of corruption and money laundering in developing countries: a preliminary analysis on the way forward

Abstract

There are numerous victims and consequences of corruption and money laundering (ML) in many developing countries (DCs). This article reiterates the conspicuous symbiotic relationship between corruption and ML, making it difficult to isolate them in financial crime. The article uses a doctrinal approach and relies on both primary and secondary documents in the analysis. Some of the documents are inclusive of but not limited to the United Kingdom Bribery Act 2010, the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 1977, the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act 2011 and Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission Act 2000 and some pronouncements of the World Bank. It is incontestable that corruption and ML have devastating domino implications in DCs, particularly Nigeria, and the time is now ripe to increase efforts towards tackling this problem which has a strong potential to become even more serious. This article seeks to highlight the problem of ML in DCs and bolster efforts to reduce it.