What Does Concentration Account Mean?

A deposit account used to aggregate funds from several locations into one centralized account. Concentration accounts are used by institutions to process and settle internal bank transactions. Concentration accounts are typically used for fund transfers, private banking transactions, trust and custody accounts, and international transactions. Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/concentration account.asp!i"zz#$%&As'(f

Concentration Account
A large account kept by a bank or other financial institution for its own internal purposes. )inancial institutions use the funds in their concentration accounts to settle numeroustransactions that occur on a particular day. )or e"ample, if a customer closes his/her bank account, the money given to him/her likely comes from the concentration account. *ften, themoney in a concentration account comes from regional branches of a bank, which transfer funds to a central location. +his is the origin of the name. &t was formerly relatively common for customers to transfer their own money through the concentration account of their banks, for both legitimate and illegitimate purposes. ,owever, the -.A /A+R&*+ Act forbade this practice.

Concentration AccountsOverview
Objective. Assess the adequacy of the banks systems to manage the risks associated with concentration accounts, and managements ability to implement effective monitoring and reporting systems. Concentration accounts are internal accounts established to facilitate the processing and settlement of multiple or individual customer transactions within the bank, usually on the same day. These accounts may also be known as special-use, omnibus, suspense, settlement, intraday, sweep, or collection accounts. Concentration accounts are fre uently used to facilitate transactions for private banking, trust and custody accounts, funds transfers, and international affiliates.

Risk Factors
!oney laundering risk can arise in concentration accounts if the customer-identifying information, such as name, transaction amount, and account number, is separated from the financial transaction. "f separation occurs, the audit trail is lost, and accounts may be misused or administered improperly. #anks that use concentration accounts should implement ade uate policies, procedures, and processes covering the operation and recordkeeping for these accounts. $olicies should establish guidelines to identify, measure, monitor, and control the risks.

Risk Mitigation
#ecause of the risks involved, management should be familiar with the nature of their customers% business and with the transactions flowing through the bank%s concentration accounts. Additionally, the monitoring of concentration account transactions is necessary to identify and report unusual or suspicious transactions. "nternal controls are necessary to ensure that processed transactions include the identifying customer information. &etaining complete information is crucial for compliance with regulatory re uirements as well as ensuring ade uate transaction monitoring. Ade uate internal controls may include' !aintaining a comprehensive system that identifies, bank-wide, the general ledger accounts used as concentration accounts, as well as the departments and individuals authori(ed to use those accounts. &e uiring dual signatures on general ledger tickets. $rohibiting direct customer access to concentration accounts. Capturing customer transactions in the customer%s account statements. $rohibiting customer%s knowledge of concentration accounts or their ability to direct employees to conduct transactions through the accounts. &etaining appropriate transaction and customer identifying information. )re uent reconciling of the accounts by an individual who is independent from the transactions. *stablishing timely discrepancy resolution process. "dentifying recurring customer names.

An offshore bank is a bank located outside the country of residence of the depositor, typically in a low ta" 0urisdiction 1orta" haven2 that provides financial and legal advantages. +hese advantages typically include: greater privacy 1see also bank secrecy, a principle born with the 34($ .wiss 5anking Act2 low or no ta"ation 1i.e. ta" havens2 easy access to deposits 1at least in terms of regulation2 protection against local political or financial instability

6hile the term originates from the Channel &slands being 7offshore7 from the -nited 8ingdom, and most offshore banks are located in island nations to this day, the term is used figuratively to refer to such banks regardless of location, including .wiss banks and those of other landlocked nations such as9u"embourg and Andorra. *ffshore banking has often been associated with the underground economy and organized crime, via ta" evasion and money laundering: however, legally, offshore banking does not prevent assets from being sub0ect to personal income ta" on interest. ;"cept for certain persons who meet fairly comple" re<uirements,=3> the personal income ta" of many countries=?> makes no distinction between interest earned in local banks and those earned abroad. /ersons sub0ect to -. income ta", for e"ample, are re<uired to declare on penalty of per0ury, any offshore bank accounts@which may or may not be numbered bank accounts@they may have. Although offshore banks may decide not to report income to other ta" authorities, and have no legal obligation to do so as they are protected bybank secrecy, this does not make the non declaration of the income by the ta" payer or the evasion of the ta" on that income legal. )ollowing .eptember 33, ?##3, there have been many calls for more regulation on international finance, in particular concerning offshore banks, ta" havens, and clearing houses such as Clearstream, based in 9u"embourg, being possible crossroads for ma0or illegal money flows. %efenders of offshore banking have criticised these attempts at regulation. +hey claim the process is prompted not by security and financial concerns but by the desire of domestic banks and ta" agencies to access the money held in offshore accounts. +hey cite the fact that offshore banking offers a competitive threat to the banking and ta"ation systems in developed countries, suggesting that*rganisation for ;conomic Co operation and %evelopment 1*;C%2 countries are trying to stamp out competition.

&n terms of offshore banking centres, in terms of total deposits, the global market is dominated by two key 0urisdictions: .witzerland and the Cayman &slands,=A> although numerous other offshore 0urisdictions also provide offshore banking to a greater or lesser degree. =citation needed> &n particular,Bersey, Cuernsey and the &sle of Dan are known for their well regulated banking infrastructure.=citation needed> .ome offshore 0urisdictions have steered their financial sectors away from offshore banking, as difficult to properly regulate and liable to give rise to financial scandal. =E>
=citation needed >

List of offshore financial centres

Main article: List of offshore financial centres *ffshore financial centres include: Antigua and 5arbuda 5ahamas 5arbados 5elize 5ermuda 5ritish Firgin &slands Cayman &slands Channel &slands 1Bersey, Cuernsey, Alderney, .ark and ,erm2 Cook &slands Cyprus %ominica Cibraltar is no longer an offshore centre since (# Bune ?##A. Go new ;"empt Company certificates are being issued from that date.=H>=4> Chana =3#>=33> ,ong 8ong &sle of Dan 9abuan, Dalaysia 9iechtenstein 9u"embourg Dalta Dacau Dauritius Donaco Dontserrat

Gauru Gew Iealand /anama .aint 8itts and Gevis .eychelles .ingapore .witzerland +urks and Caicos &slands

An offshore bank is a financial institution located in a country in which typically accepts depositor funds from non residents. *ffshore banks are typically located in a low ta" 0urisdiction, also known as a Jta" havenJ, that often provides legal or fiscal advantages.

Bank Secrecy
*ne of the primary advantages offered by offshore banks 1especially private offshore banks2 is the promise of increased privacy for a clientJs financial matters. 6hile ta" matters provided the genesis for the modern day offshore financial centres, people have come to think of them as offering a greater degree of privacy over their financial matters. +his association probably began with the 34($ .wiss 5anking Act. 6ith the advent of the 7information age7, and aggressive ta" collection tactics, customersJ demands for privacy have grown stronger. Firtually every offshore financial institution is chartered in a 0urisdiction that at least purports to provide a higher level of financial privacy and a lower level of financial transparency into the affairs of their clientele. )or this reason you are more likely to find a swiss offshore bankor cayman offshore bank than one in high ta" 0urisdiction.

Low Tax or Tax Free

+he most obvious reason for banking in a ta" haven, is the potential to reduce oneJs ta"es. All manner of comple" offshore structures, involving offshore trusts, private interest foundations, and offshore companies create transactions involving a bewildering variety of financial instruments. Dost often, however, the transactions involve moving the 0urisdiction of a transaction to location that will produce the most favorable net ta" outcome for the entity in <uestion.

More Relaxe Re!ulatory "n#iron$ent

6hile many frustrated business owners welcome less red tape, potential offshore banking customers should e"ercise a bit of due diligence here. Dost offshore banks do G*+ come within the purview of their respective Central 5anks. &n addition, those that are public, are generally small divisions within much larger offshore financial institutions or banking conglomerates. As a result, there is often very little insight potential clients can get into whether these offshore banks are staying within responsible capital ratios relative to the risk in their portfolios.

Financial% Le!al% an &olitical Di#ersification

Another advantage that depositors in offshore bank accounts perceive is financial, legal, and political diversification. *ff shore bank customers, due to the bank secrecy laws can use an offshore account as a first level of a greater offshore asset protection strategy.

+heir offshore accounts are protected from overreaching lawyers and liberal 0udges in heavily litigious societies, criminal elements targeting them in their own home countries, and the whims of the current administrationJs ta" changes going against them.

Disa #anta!es of 'ffshore Banks

*ffshore banking has often been associated with the gray market, 7underground7 economy and organized crime for purposes of evading ta"es 1ta" evasion2, and/or money laundering. +a" collecting authorities have often attempted to characterize offshore bank accounts as being associated with ta" evasion, money laundering, criminal enterprises or more recently terrorism. -. persons, for e"ample, are re<uired to declare any offshore bank account, including a numbered bank account, they have each year when they declare ta"es. +he -nited .tatesJ ta" collection authorities, &nternal Revenue .ervice, estimate that last year they missed K$#5 in ta" receipts due to the e"istence of offshore bank accounts and offshore financial centers.

Atte$(ts to Re!ulate 'ffshore Bankin!

Dost offshore banks do not to report income to their respective clientsJ ta" authorities. &n countries with strong bank secrecy laws they are under a duty not to do so. +he problem is, since .eptember 33, ?##3 many ta" authorities have used the opportunity created in the crisis to levy addition scrutiny on offshore bank accounts, offshore banks and offshore financial centers. +hose 0urisdictions and institutions that were the most susceptible to political and economic pressures from the -nited .tates have in essence ceased observing their own bank secrecy laws and have in effect ceased to be effective offshore financial centers.

Laws Re!ar in! De(ositors in 'ffshore Bank Accounts

/ersonal income ta" laws in many high ta" regimes 1including the -. and ;-2 does not differentiate between offshore banks interest, domestic banks interest and interest earned from onshore banks abroad in international banking accounts. &n the case of -. persons, citizens are re<uired to declare any offshore bank accounts which may or may not be numbered bank accounts they may have. Although offshore banks may decide not to report income to other ta" authorities, and have no legal obligation to do so as they are protected by bank secrecy, this does not make the non declaration of the income by the ta" payer or the evasion of the ta" on that income legal. )ollowing .eptember 33, ?##3, there have been many calls for more regulation on international finance, in particular concerning offshore banks, ta" havens, and financial clearing houses. %efenders of offshore banking have criticised these attempts at regulation. +hey claim the process is prompted, not by security and financial concerns, but by the desire of domestic banks and ta" agencies to access the money held in offshore accounts. +hey cite the fact that offshore banking offers a competitive threat to the banking and ta"ation systems in developed countries, suggesting that *rganisation for ;conomic Co operation and %evelopment 1*;C%2 countries are trying to stamp out competition.

'ri!ins of Ter$ )'ffshore Bank)?

+he term offshore bank may have originated from the -nited 8ingdomJs Channel &slands, which are 7offshore7 from Creat 5ritain. 6hile itJs true that to this day many offshore banks are located in small island nations, the phrase more generally refers to the service offerings, bank secrecy and ta" structure of the 0urisdiction, or offshore centre, in which the institution is located. 5y way of e"ample, some of the most famous 7offshore financial centres7 are the ta" havens of 9iechtenstein, 9u"embourg, Andorra, Austria, and .witzerland, all of which are land locked.

A/CD9
+he Asia//acific Croup on Doney 9aundering 1A/C2 is an international organisation 1regionally focused2 consisting of $3 members and a number of international and regional observers including the -nited Gations, &D), )A+), Asian %evelopment 5ank and 6orld 5ank 1seeDembers and *bservers links for the list2. +he A/C is closely affiliated with the )inancial Action +ask )orce 1)A+)2, whose .ecretariat is located in the *;C% head<uarters in /aris, )rance. All A/C members commit to effectively implement the )A+)Js international standards for anti money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism, referred to as the $#L4 Recommendations. /art of this commitment includes implementing measures against terrorists listed by the -nited Gations in the 7-G.C 3?AE Consolidated 9ist7: +he -G .ecurity Council 3?AE Committee Consolidated 9ist Al Maida, -sama bin 9aden, N the +aliban etc.

APG's Functions
+he A/C has a number of functions including: Assess A/C membersJ compliance with the global AD9/C)+ standards through mutual evaluations: Coordinate technical assistance and training with donor agencies and A/C members/observers to improve compliance with the AD9/C)+ standards: Co operate with the international AD9/C)+ network: Conduct research into money laundering and terrorist financing methods, trends, risks and vulnerabilities: Contribute to the global AD9/C)+ policy development by active Associate Dembership of )A+).

Al Capone
)rom 6ikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Capone" redirects here. For other uses, see Capone (disambiguation).

Al Capone

Official mugshot

Born

January 17, 1899 Brooklyn, New York, United tates

Died

January !", 19#7 $aged #8% &alm 'sland, (lorida, United tates)

Charge(s)

*a+ e,asion

Penalty

11 year sentence in -lcatra.

Status

/eceased

Occupation

0angster, 1ootlegger, criminal,racketeer, 1oss of 2hicago Outfit

Spouse

3ae 2a4one

Children

-l1ert (rancis 2a4one

Al(honse *abriel +Al+ Ca(one 1Banuary 3E, 3H44 O Banuary ?P, 34$E2 was an American gangster who led a/rohibition era crime syndicate. +he Chicago *utfit, which subse<uently became known as the 7Capones7, was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging li<uor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicagofrom the early 34?#s to 34(3. 5orn in the 5rooklyn borough of Gew Qork City to &talianimmigrants, Capone became involved with gang activity at a young age after being e"pelled from school at age 3$. =3>&n his early twenties, he moved to Chicago to take advantage of a new opportunity to make money smuggling illegal alcoholic beverages into the city during /rohibition. ,e also engaged in various other criminal activities, including bribery of government figures andprostitution. %espite his illegitimate occupation, Capone became a highly visible public figure. ,e made various charitable endeavors using the money he made from his activities, and was viewed by many to be a 7modern dayRobin ,ood7.=?> Capone was publicly criticized for his supposed involvement in the .aint FalentineJs %ay Dassacre, when seven rival gang members were e"ecuted.=(> Capone was convicted on federal charges of ta" evasion, and sentenced to federal prison. ,is incarceration included a term at the new Alcatraz federal prison. &n the final years of CaponeJs life, he suffered mental and physical deterioration due to late

stage neurosyphilis, which he had contracted as a youth. *n Banuary ?P, 34$E, he died from cardiac arrest after suffering a stroke.

,n (o(ular culture
*ne of the most notorious American gangsters of the ?#th century, Capone has been the sub0ect of numerous articles, books, and films. CaponeJs personality and character have been used in fiction as a model for crime lords and criminal masterminds ever since his death. +he stereotypical image of a mobster wearing a blue pinstriped suit and tilted fedora is based on photos of Capone. ,is accent, mannerisms, facial construction, physical stature, and parodies of his name have been used for numerous gangsters in comics, movies, music, and literature.

,nter(ol, whose full name is the ,nternational Cri$inal &olice 'r!ani-ation . ,/T"R&'L ,=3>is an organization facilitating international police cooperation. &t was established as the ,nternational Cri$inal &olice Co$$ission in 34?( and adopted its telegraphic address as its common name in 34PA.

&ts membership of 3HH countries provides finance of around RP4 million through annual contributions. +he organizationJs head<uarters is in 9yon, )rance. &t is the second largest intergovernmental organization after the -nited Gations, in terms of number of member states. &ts current .ecretary Ceneral is Ronald Goble, a former -nited .tates -nder .ecretary of the +reasury for ;nforcement. &ts current /resident is.ingaporeJs .enior %eputy .ecretary of theDinistry of ,ome Affairs and former Commissioner of /olice 8hoo 5oon ,ui: the /resident before that, Backie .elebi, Gational Commissioner of the.outh African /olice .ervice, held his term from ?##$ till his resignation on 3( Banuary ?##H, after which he was charged in .outh Africa on three counts of corruption and one of defeating the course of 0ustice, and replaced by Arturo ,errera Ferdugo, current Gational Commissioner of&nvestigations /olice of Chile and former vice president for the American Ione, who remained acting president until the organization meeting in *ctober ?##H.=?> &n order to maintain as politically neutral a role as possible, &nterpolJs constitution forbids it to undertake any interventions or activities of a political, military, religious, or racial nature. =(> &ts work focuses primarily on public safety, terrorism,organized crime, crimes against humanity,environmental crime, genocide, war crimes,piracy, illicit drug production, drug trafficking,weapons smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering, child pornography, white collar crime,computer crime, intellectual property crime andcorruption. &n ?##H, the &nterpol Ceneral .ecretariat employed a staff of PHH, representing H$ member countries. +he &nterpol public website=$> received an average of ?.? million page visits every month. &nterpol issued (,3?A red notices for the year ?##H which led to the arrest of E3H people. =P>
Contents
5hide6

1 7istory ! 2onstitution 8 3ethodology # (inances " 9m1lem : 3em1er states and su1;1ureaus

:)1 Non;mem1er countries 7 ecretaries;general and 4residents 8 ee also

9 <eferences 1= 9+ternal links

0e it12istory +he first significant move towards creating &G+;R/*9 was in 343$ at the )irst &nternational Criminal /olice Congress. /olice officers, lawyers and magistrates from 3$ countries gathered in Donaco to discuss arrest procedures, identification techni<ues, centralized international criminal records and e"tradition proceedings. =A> ,owever 6orld 6ar & delayed this initiative and it was not until 34?( that &nterpol was founded at the .econd &nternational /olice Congress in Fienna as the &nternational Criminal /olice 1&C/2. )ounding members were Austria, 5elgium, China, ;gypt, )rance, Cermany, Creece, ,ungary, &taly, the Getherlands, Romania, .weden, .witzerland, and Qugoslavia.=E> +he -nited .tates government 0oined &G+;R/*9 in 34(H. =H> )ollowing the Anschluss 1AustriaJs anne"ation by Cermany2 in 34(H, the organization fell under the control of Gazi Cermany, and the CommissionJs head<uarters were eventually moved to 5erlin in 34$?. )rom 34(H to 34$P, the presidents of &nterpol included *tto .teinhSusl, Reinhard ,eydrich, Arthur Gebe, and ;rnst 8altenbrunner. All were generals in the .., and 8altenbrunner was the highest ranking .. officer e"ecuted after the Guremberg +rial. Reinhard ,eydrich was assassinated by CzechBan 8ubiT and .lovak Bozef CabUVk in 34$?. After the end of 6orld 6ar && in 34$P, the organization was revived as the &nternational Criminal /olice *rganization by ;uropean Allies of 6orld 6ar && officials from 5elgium, )rance, .candinavia and the-nited 8ingdom. &ts new head<uarters were established in .aint Cloud, a town on the outskirts of/aris. +hey remained there until 34H4, when they were moved to their present location, 9yon. -ntil the 34H#s &nterpol did not intervene in the prosecution of Gazi war criminals in accordance with Article ( of its Constitution forbidding intervention in JpoliticalJ matters.=4> ,owever, it has issued arrest warrants for former country leaders like Iine ;l Abidine 5en Ali and ,osni Dubarak despite Article (, on the grounds that they were accused of corruption 1particularly embezzlement2. *n ? Buly ?#3#, former &nterpol /resident Backie .elebi was found guilty of corruption by the .outh African ,igh Court in Bohannesburg for accepting bribes worth R3PA,### from a drug trafficker.=3#> After being charged in Banuary ?##H, .elebi resigned as president of &nterpol and was put on e"tended leave as Gational /olice Commissioner of .outh Africa. =citation needed> 0e it1Constitution

+he role of &nterpol is defined by the general provisions of its constitution. ,n article 3

1) +o ensure and promote the widest possible mutual assistance between all criminal police
authorities within the limits of the laws e"isting in the different countries and in the spirit of the-niversal %eclaration of ,uman Rights. ?. +o establish and develop all institutions likely to contribute effectively to the prevention and suppression of ordinary law crimes. ,n article 4 &t is strictly forbidden for the *rganization to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.=33> 0e it1Metho

olo!y

&nterpol differs from most law enforcement agencies@agents do not make arrests themselves, and there is no single &nterpol 0ail where criminals are taken. +he agency functions as an administrative liaison between the law enforcement agencies of the member countries, providing communications and database assistance. +his is vital when fighting international crime because language, cultural and bureaucratic differences can make it difficult for officers of different nations to work together. )or e"ample, if &C; and )5& special agents track a terrorist to &taly, they may not know whom to contact in the /olizia di .tato, if the Carabinieri have 0urisdiction over some aspect of the case, or who in the &talian government needs to be notified of the &C;/)5&Js involvement. &C; and )5& can contact the &nterpol Gational Central 5ureau in &taly, which will act as a liaison between the -nited .tates and &talian law enforcement agencies. &nterpolJs databases help law enforcement see the big picture of international crime. 6hile other agencies have their own e"tensive crime databases, the information rarely e"tends beyond one nationJs borders. &nterpol can track criminals and crime trends around the world. +hey maintain collections of fingerprints and mug shots, lists of wanted persons, %GA samples and travel documents. +heir lost and stolen travel document database alone contains more than 3? million records. +hey also analyze all this data and release information on crime trends to the member countries. A secure worldwide communications network allows &nterpol agents and member countries to contact each other at any time. 8nown as & ?$/E, the network offers constant access to &nterpolJs databases. 6hile the Gational Central 5ureaus are the primary access sites to the network, some

member countries have e"panded it to key areas such as airports and border access points. Dember countries can also access each otherJs criminal databases via the & ?$/E system. &n the event of an international disaster, terrorist attack or assassination, &nterpol can send an incident response team. +his team can offer a range of e"pertise and database access to assist with victim identification, suspect identification and the dissemination of information to other nationsJ law enforcement agencies. &n addition, at the re<uest of local authorities, they can act as a central command and logistics operation to coordinate other law enforcement agencies involved in a case. .uch teams were deployed 3? times in ?##P. =citation needed> &nterpol began issuing its own passport in ?##4 with hopes that member states would remove visa re<uirements for individuals traveling for &nterpol business, thereby improving response times. =3?> 0e it1Finances &n ?##4 &nterpolJs income was RP4 million, of which H?W comprised statutory contributions by member countries and 3$W income from pro0ects, private foundations and commercial enterprises.=3(> )rom ?##$ to ?#3# &nterpolJs e"ternal auditors have been the Cour des comptes.=3$>
=3P>

0e it1"$ble$ +he current emblem of &nterpol was adopted in 34P# and according to their website has the following symbolism=3>: the globe indicates worldwide activity the olive braches represent peace the sword represents police action the scales signify 0ustice