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唐朱昌
唐朱昌
教授,博士生导师。复旦大学中国反洗钱研究中心首任主任,复旦大学俄...
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陈浩然
陈浩然
复旦大学法学院教授、博士生导师;复旦大学国际刑法研究中心主任。...
何 萍
何 萍
华东政法大学刑法学教授,复旦大学中国反洗钱研究中心特聘研究员,荷...
李小杰
李小杰
安永金融服务风险管理、咨询总监,曾任蚂蚁金服反洗钱总监,复旦大学...
周锦贤
周锦贤
周锦贤先生,香港人,广州暨南大学法律学士,复旦大学中国反洗钱研究中...
童文俊
童文俊
高级经济师,复旦大学金融学博士,复旦大学经济学博士后。现供职于中...
汤 俊
汤 俊
武汉中南财经政法大学信息安全学院教授。长期专注于反洗钱/反恐...
李 刚
李 刚
生辰:1977.7.26 籍贯:辽宁抚顺 民族:汉 党派:九三学社 职称:教授 研究...
祝亚雄
祝亚雄
祝亚雄,1974年生,浙江衢州人。浙江师范大学经济与管理学院副教授,博...
顾卿华
顾卿华
复旦大学中国反洗钱研究中心特聘研究员;现任安永管理咨询服务合伙...
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上传时间: 2018-08-09      浏览次数:603次
Trump supporters may be in for a crash course on money laundering


https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/syndicated-columnists/article216332125.html

 

It is more typical for a prospective defendant to admit nothing rather than publicly justify everything, but President Donald Trump is an innovator. His practice of doubling down on errors while denying they are errors has worked to solidify his political base. We will soon see how it fares as a legal strategy.

Obstruction? “Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now,” Trump recently tweeted. The White House explained that this was a wish rather than an order. When Henry II mused, “Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?” it was also a wish, not an order. Yet Thomas Becket ended up just as dead.

Collusion? Trump recently tweeted of his eldest son’s Trump Tower sit-down with the Russians: “This was a meeting to get information on an opponent.” Even if you view meeting with representatives of a hostile power to get dirt on your political rival as the definition of collusion, Trump assures us that “collusion is not a crime.”

So, by any reasonable standard, Trump has publicly attempted obstruction of justice. He has also admitted that his presidential campaign attempted collusion with a foreign power. And he has asserted that both practices are normal in politics.

There is, however, a notable exception to Trump’s legal strategy of hiding in plain sight. He has never, to my knowledge, admitted financial corruption. From the beginning of the Mueller investigation, Trump’s lawyers have tried to enforce a “red line” at Trump’s financial practices.

“It’s possible,” Trump said, “there’s a condo or something, so, you know, I sell a lot of condo units, and somebody from Russia buys a condo. Who knows? I don’t make money from Russia.”

If the president seems particularly concerned about scrutiny of his financial practices, Mueller seems particularly interested in examining them. His A-team of investigators includes experts in money laundering, foreign bribery, organized crime and financial fraud. And they appear to have a lot on their plate.

How did a businessman who once called himself the “king of debt” get $400 million in cash to spend through shell companies on golf courses, a winery and a Scottish estate? (Remember that in 2008 Donald Trump Jr. said: “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross section of a lot of our assets. … We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.”) What contributions, if any, did Russian oligarchs make to Michael Cohen’s slush fund to pay off Trump’s alleged mistress or mistresses? What role did Russian mobsters and oligarchs play in Trump real estate deals?

When Mueller finally turns in his report, I suspect that Americans will get a crash course in the meaning of money laundering. At the most basic level, this practice consists of disguising the origins of money from a criminal enterprise. It can be done on a small scale — like (we have learned from the Paul Manafort prosecution) funneling money through an antique rug shop. Larger scale laundering is often done through real estate — using shell companies to hide the source of cash in the purchase of properties.

The charge of money laundering has not been proven against Trump and his family. And it is very hard to prove. But Trump shows all the warning signs that tip off investigators: the extensive use of limited liability companies, the refusal to disclose tax returns, the total lack of transparency.

How would Americans react to a credible charge of financial corruption against Trump? A portion of the public, of course, will persist in the belief that since all politicians are corrupt, it is unfair to single out their man. This has become the “everyone does it” presidency. Don’t all campaigns try to conspire with hostile foreign governments to influence American presidential elections? Don’t all politicians try to derail federal investigations against them? Don’t all prominent men pay off Playboy bunnies and porn stars? Don’t all wealthy men engage in opaque financial arrangements with some of the most corrupt and dangerous people on earth?

No. They. Don’t.