Money laundering laws and principles of Shari'ah: dancing to the same beat?

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the criminalisation of money laundering, corporate criminal liability for money laundering, equitable liability of professional intermediaries for money laundering and defence of disclosure from the perspective of Shari'ah. Design/methodology/approach – The approach is to interpret and analogise the injunctions in the primary sources of Shari'ah, namely the Qur'an and Sunnah. Findings – In Islam, money laundering can be classified as a criminal offence of ta'zir, corporations cannot be made criminally liable for money laundering, professional intermediaries can be made equitably liable for money laundering and defence of disclosure is acceptable. Practical implications – Money laundering laws can be adopted with some modifications by Muslim jurisdictions where Shari'ah is the principal source of law. Originality/value – The paper presents novel insights into the compatibility of money laundering laws with the principles of Shari'ah.