A wealthy individual is using a complex corporate structure to facilitate illegal logging and then illegal mining of the resulting resources from that land.
Which category of predicate crime is taking place?
Correct Answer: D
The CAMS 6th Edition specifically lists environmental crime as a predicate offense for money laundering.
Environmental crimes include activities such as illegal logging, illegal mining, and illegal trade in wildlife.
"Environmental crime, including illegal logging and mining, is recognized as a predicate offense to money laundering. Such crimes often involve complex corporate structures to hide the illicit origin of the proceeds." (CAMS 6th Edition, Chapter: Risks and Methods of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing; FATF Recommendations, Predicate Offenses) Incorrect Options:
* A: Trade-based ML refers to manipulating trade transactions, not the underlying crime.
* B: Corruption may be involved, but the primary crime is environmental.
* C: Illicit resource trade describes the act, but the official predicate crime category is environmental crime.
References:
CAMS Study Guide 6th Edition, Predicate Crimes for Money Laundering
FATF Recommendation 3: Money laundering offense and predicate offenses