Abstracts Category : Other

The impact of the Portuguese culture in the prevention and detection phases of money laundering crimes

by Alexandre Rainho Mateus

Every day, millions of financial transactions take place around the world. These transactions are the cornerstone of the worlds economy. However, crimes such as money laundering and terrorist financing threaten the stability of the financial system. Financial Intelligence Units and subject entities work every day to fight these problems. With this in mind, this dissertation was developed as a consultancy thesis for a Portuguese financial institution and it investigates how Hofstedes (1983) cultural dimensions influence the effectiveness in detecting money laundering and terrorist financing in the compliance department of the organization. From the studies conducted, it was possible to infer that three of the six dimensions proposed by Hofstede (Individualism vs Collectivism, Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance), have an impact on prevention and detection of money laundering and terrorist financing crimes, in that department. Taking the above mentioned into consideration, the first suggestion is the continuation of the effort to create measures that support communication, within the compliance department. Secondly, a new role in the compliance department can be created. This new job would have the responsibility of analysing possible flaws with the mechanisms and new ways that criminals can use to achieve their ends. Finally, the creation of a new entity with the purpose of regulation and managing the compliance profession will be suggested. Todos os dias, milhes de transaes financeiras so realizadas no mundo inteiro. Essas transaes so a base da economia mundial. No entanto, crimes como o branqueamento de capitais e financiamento do terrorismo ameaam a estabilidade do sistema financeiro. As Unidades de Informao Financeira e entidades sujeitas trabalham todos os dias para combater estes problemas. Neste sentido, esta tese de consultoria para uma instituio financeira portuguesa, investiga de que forma as dimenses culturais de Hofstede (1983) influenciam a eficcia na deteo de branqueamento de capitais e financiamento do terrorismo no departamento de compliance de uma instituio financeira portuguesa. A partir dos estudos realizados, foi possvel inferir que trs das seis dimenses propostas por Hofstede (Individualismo vs Coletivismo, Distncia de Poder e Preveno de Incertezas) tm impacto na preveno e deteo de crimes de branqueamento de capitais e financiamento do terrorismo nesse departamento. Tendo em conta o acima mencionado, a primeira sugesto a continuao do esforo de criao de medidas de apoio comunicao, dentro do departamento de compliance. Em segundo lugar, um novo posto neste departamento pode ser criado. Esta nova posio teria a responsabilidade de analisar possveis falhas dos mecanismos de deteo e preveno e novas formas que os criminosos podem usar para alcanar seus fins. Finalmente, ser sugerida a criao de uma nova entidade com o objetivo de regulamentar e gerir a atividade de compliance.Advisors/Committee Members: Ramus, Tommaso.