Legal analysis of contemporary money laundering forms and a review of legal practice

Pranje denarja predstavlja vedno bolj pereč problem zahodnih družb, saj močno škoduje finančnemu trgu in gospodarstvu posameznih držav. Problematika pranja denarja je močno povezana z organiziram kriminalom, ki je v veliki večini primerov povod za nezakonite posle z denarjem. Zaradi vse večje razširjenosti organiziranega kriminala in posledično pranja denarja so zahodne države začele ustanavljati pristojne državne organe za preprečevanje in odkrivanje pranja denarja. Na slovenskih tleh v ta namen deluje Urad Republike Slovenije za preprečevanje pranja denarja, ki opravlja naloge v sestavi Ministrstva za finance. Za uspešen boj proti kriminalu je potrebna tudi učinkovita sodna praksa, ki pa v Sloveniji vzbuja številna vprašanja. Namen diplomske naloge je bil s pomočjo zgodovinske, primerjalne in sociološke metode ugotoviti, v kakšnih oblikah se pranje denarja najpogosteje pojavlja, od katere institucije največkrat pride do prijav in ali je slovensko sodstvo uspešno pri preiskovanju in zatiranju na področju pranja denarja. Ugotovil sem, da so najpogostejše uporabljene in ponavljajoče se oblike pranja denarja pomoč fizičnih oseb pri pranju denarja, pranje denarja s pomočjo gospodarskih družb ustanovljenih v »davčnih oazah«, zamenjava bankovcev, pranje denarja preko posojil in računov družb in fizičnih oseb iz sosednjih oziroma tujih držav. Največji prijavitelj sumljivih transakcij in aktivnosti, ki vzbujajo razloge suma pranja denarja so banke, ki so glavni center finančnega trga. Na področju slovenske sodne prakse se je stanje skozi leta izboljšalo, saj imamo vedno več obsodilnih kot oprostilnih sodb, prav tako pa imamo tudi vedno več prijav, ki so vezane na preprečevanje pranja denarja.Money laundering is an increasing topical issue of Western societies, as it greatly harms the financial market and economy of individual countries. The problem of money laundering is strongly linked to the organized crime which is, in most cases, the cause of illegal money transactions. Due to the increasing prevalence of organized crime and, consequently, money laundering, Western countries began to set up state authorities for the prevention and detection of money laundering. To this intend Slovenia has established the Office for Money Laundering Prevention which performs tasks within the Ministry of Finance. For a successful fight against crime, effective case law is necessary, which in Slovenia raises a number of issues. The purpose of my dissertation was to determine, by means of historical, comparative and sociological methods, the ways in which money laundering is the most frequently occurring, which institutions most often reports money laundering and whether the Slovenian judiciary is successful in investigating and suppressing money laundering. I have found out that the most commonly used and repetitive forms of money laundering are money laundering with the help of natural persons, off shore companies, exchange of money bills, through loans and accounts of companies and individuals from neighboring and foreign countries. The largest applicant for suspicious transactions and activities, which raise the suspicions of money laundering, are banks that are the main center of financial market. The situation in Slovenian case-law has improved over the years, as we have more and more convictions than exemplary judgements. In this relation we also have more and more reports related to the prevention of money laundering