IMPACT OF NEW FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGIES ON MONEY LAUNDERING ACTIVITIES

Pranje novca označava proces prikrivanja izvornog vlasništva imovine stečene kriminalnim radnjama od strane pojedinaca ili grupe ljudi te prikazivanja takve imovine kao da je legitimno stečena. Postupci po kojima se može oprati kriminalno izvedena imovina opsežni su i upravo u ovom radu bit će opisani postupci i metode pranja novca kao i faze kroz koje prolazi ovaj proces. Iako se kriminalni novac može uspješno „prati“ bez pomoći financijskog sektora, realnost je da se velik dio novca koji se izvlači iz kriminala godišnje pere kroz financijske institucije. Priroda usluga i proizvoda koje nudi industrija financijskih usluga (upravljanje, kontrola i posjedovanje novca i imovine koja pripada drugima) znači da je ona podložna procesima pranja novca. Postoje mnogi zakoni koji se bave pranjem novca te će u ovom radu biti opisani oni najvažniji, koji se primjenjuju u hrvatskom i međunarodnom zakonodavstvu. Nadalje, bit će prikazana uloga institucija u pranju novca koje pomažu u borbi protiv ove nezakonite radnje. U zadnjih nekoliko godina, povećan je rizik od suvremenih načina pranja novca putem novih financijskih tehnologija, poput digitalnih novčanika, kriptovaluta i novih financijsko-tehnoloških kompanija. Iako određene finacijske tehnologije predstavljaju ozbiljan rizik za povjerenje javnosti i stabilnost financijskog sustava, tehnologije poput blockchaina i Open API-a mogu pomoći u sprječavanju pranja novca.Money laundering is a process of ownership disguise of assets, acquired through criminal activities by an individual or a group and displaying these assets as if they were legitimately acquired. The procedures through which criminally derived assets can be laundered are extensive. Purpose of the study is to describe procedures and methods of money laundering, as well as the stages that this process goes through. Although money acquired from criminal activities can be tracked without the help of the financial sector, large portions of the money extracted from crime are laundered annually through financial institutions. Financial service industry offers different services and products (f.e. the management, control or possession of money and assets belonging to others), which means that is highly susceptible to abuse by the processes of money laundering. There are many laws dealing with money laundering and this paper will describe the most important ones applied in Croatian and international legislation. The role of money laundering institutions that help defend against this illegal act will also be presented. In recent years there has been increased risk from modern money laundering methods through new financial technologies like digital wallets, cryptocurrencies and new fintech companies. Even though specific financial technologies represent serious risk for public trust and stability of financial system, technologies like blockchain and Open API can seriously help in anti-money laundering and risk management