An Introduction to Money Laundering: 'The Hunter'

Eugene  Soltes; Guilhem  Ros; Grace  Liu

Case | HBS Case Collection | September 2020

An Introduction to Money Laundering: 'The Hunter'

by Eugene Soltes, Guilhem Ros and Grace Liu

Abstract

Money laundering schemes disguise the criminal origins of an estimated 2% to 5% of the world’s gross domestic product. Money laundering not only enables criminals to escape detection, but may also be used to finance further criminal operations including terrorism. This case introduces readers to money laundering and anti-money laundering (AML) techniques.

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Accounting Audits; Financial Reporting; Financial Institutions; Banks and Banking; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Governance Controls; International Relations; National Security; Ethics; Accounting Industry; Banking Industry; United States; Europe;

Language: English

Format: Print

11 pages

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Citation:

Soltes, Eugene, Guilhem Ros, and Grace Liu. "An Introduction to Money Laundering: 'The Hunter'." Harvard Business School Case 121-011, September 2020.

In an effort to motivate firms to more rapidly detect potential misconduct, legislators, regulators, and enforcement agencies incentivize firms to have integrity or “whistleblowing” hotlines. These hotlines provide individuals an opportunity to report alleged misconduct and seek guidance about how to appropriately respond. Beyond some isolated examples, little is known about the responsiveness of hotlines to actual claims of alleged misconduct. I undertake a field study to investigate how hotlines function in practice by making four different inquiries involving alleged misconduct to nearly 250 firms. I find that one-fifth of firms have impediments (e.g., phone line disconnected, email bounce back, direct to incorrect website) that hinder reporting and approximately 10% of firms do not respond in a timely manner. Overall, this investigation illuminates several differences between integrity hotlines “on paper” and how they actually perform in practice.

There are numerous restrictions against trading on material, nonpublic information (MNPI)—typically called “insider trading.” This note describes the limitations facing managers and investors as enforced civilly and criminally within the United States.

Managers expend significant time and effort preparing disclosures about firm performance and strategy. Although prior literature has explored how variation in the style and presentation of disclosures impacts investors' perceptions of firms, little is known about how firms actually create these disclosures and how this process impacts presentation. Based on field data collected from nearly 200 firms, we show that there is considerable variation in who prepares disclosures, when they are prepared, and the amount of effort expended by different types of managers (e.g., legal, public relations/marketing, finance, investor relations, senior leadership). We find that these differences in organizational processes are associated with differences in the structure, style, and tone of 10-Ks and conference calls. Ultimately, our investigation begins to illuminate how individual managerial efforts vary across firms and contribute to differences in public disclosures.

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An Introduction to Money Laundering: 'The Hunter'

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