CRIMINAL LAW MEASURES TO COMBAT MONEY LAUNDERING FROM DRUG TRAFFICKING: AN ANALYSIS OF INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

The article is devoted to highlighting the current issues of the problem of money laundering, obtained from drug trafficking, and criminal legal measures to combat this phenomenon.The history of legislative initiatives implemented by various countries to combat money laundering is described, from the adoption of the first thorough laws to modern ones.It is also noted that completely stopping illegal money-laundering schemes is a very difficult task, as they are often based on complex financial manipulations and international transfers that make it difficult to trace suspicious activities.The main stages of money laundering are characterized: placement, layering and integration.In the first stage, illegally earned money is partially injected into the legal financial system through the purchase of luxury items and the like.At the second stage, complex financial manipulations are carried out to hide the source of the funds.At the third stage, laundered funds are returned to the legal economy under the guise of legal income.It is noted that international bodies and state institutions of countries are developing methods of legislative struggle and introducing stricter and innovative laws that contribute to the fight against money laundering, forcing financial institutions and enterprises to strictly comply with these rules.There are also examples of large, well-known financial institutions that were fined for crimes related to facilitating the concealment of illegal income.The importance and impact of international cooperation in the fight against money laundering is characterized.The legislative regulations and initiatives of various countries, in particular the USA, Australia, Ukraine, Israel and the countries of the European Union, aimed at combating the laundering of money obtained from drug trafficking, are considered.In general, cooperation between countries, data sharing and joint operations to identify and prosecute criminals are critical to successfully combating the complex mechanism of money laundering.The use of modern technologies and the ability to analyze a large amount of data allows more effective detection of aspects of questionable financial activity.