The Money Laundry

In The Money Laundry, J. C. Sharman investigates whether anti–money laundering policy works, and why it has spread so rapidly to so many states with so little in common.

J. C. Sharman is Professor in the Centre for Governance and Public Policy, Griffith University. He is the author of Havens in a Storm: The Struggle for Global Tax Regulation, also from Cornell, and coauthor most recently of Corruption and Money Laundering: A Symbiotic Relationship.

Well documented, well structured and with plenty of interesting examples, The Money Laundry takes readers through the complexity of the post-9/11 global AML policy drive.... Sharman not only provides a much needed constructive critique of anti-money laundering (AML) policy but shows how we can build on its few successful aspects.

Tim Hall:

In the context of work on the contemporary illicit, J.C. Sharman's book, The Money Laundry: Regulating Criminal Finance in the Global Economy, stands as a major contribution. Sharman sets out to look at the rapid and virtually unchallenged global diffusion of anti-money laundering (AML) policy and standards through the work of international organizations.... The book is written with an insider’s insight, coupled with an academic detachment.... It will be a shame if his work does not attract a wide audience.

Jacqueline Best, University of Ottawa, author of The Limits of Transparency:

J. C. Sharman's The Money Laundry should be required reading for those interested in the politics of global governance. The book shows us the central importance of the anti–money laundering (AML) regime as a site of global power. Sharman has done some exceptional primary research, including using some very innovative (even audacious) methods of testing the AML system. This book is an engaging read, beautifully written in a way that is accessible to a wide audience.

Daniel W. Dreznerthe, Fletcher School of International Politics, Tufts University, author of All Politics is Global: Explaining International Regulatory Regimes:

In The Money Laundry, J. C. Sharman burrows deeply into the effort to combat money laundering. Through a combination of exhaustive research, interviews, and the groundbreaking approach of direct testing, Sharman demonstrations the comprehensive and dysfunctional nature of the anti–money laundering (AML) regime. This well-written book will be of interest for anyone working on global governance or global political economy. The nuggets of detail, like the perversity of attacking Nauru's nonexistent financial sector and the incompatibility of spreadsheet software for AML purposes, are gold.

Michael Levi, Cardiff UniversityCardiff University author of The Phantom Capitalists :

The Money Laundry is an important work of extraordinary compass that turns an ultra-skeptical, informed lens upon the global anti-laundering movement. It poses some fundamental questions for the rationality of current approaches to serious crime control, both in the developed and, especially, the developing world.