Financial Crime – Money Laundering

Money Laundering
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Professor William Byrnes, a legal expert who writes on such issues as the fight against international money laundering schemes, is a main author of “Money Laundering, Asset Forfeiture & Recovery, and Compliance – A Global Guide.” In addition to the above-mentioned publication, William Byrnes has written or contributed to nearly two dozen book chapters, 30 books, and hundreds of articles related to finance and financial crimes.

Some criminal enterprises produce vast sums of money, which gives rise to a problem in that spending such ill-gotten gains often attracts attention of police or tax authorities curious to know where the money came from. To avoid such attention and to make gains seem legitimate, criminal organizations turn to illegal money laundering activities.

Money laundering usually occurs in three basic stages. The first, called “placement,” involves the introduction of criminal funds into the financial system. During “layering,” the second step, criminals obscure the ownership and origins of their money, making it seem legitimately sourced. Finally, the laundered money is then recycled into the law-biding economy.

In the modern international economy, money laundering can take on many forms, some of which are quite subtle. For instance, criminals launder billions of dollars per year in ill-gotten wealth through unwitting financial institutions, which offer increasingly complex financial products that criminals can take advantage of without the active collusion of such institutions.

William Byrnes Live Telecast on Media Channels To 800 million Viewers

William Byrnes
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A law professor and associate dean at the Texas A&M University School of Law, William Byrnes has coauthored numerous books, including the Lexis Guide to FATCA Compliance (2012). William Byrnes is a frequent speaker at major global conferences.

On April 22, 2017 Prof. William Byrnes was a featured speaker in India among a distinguished global list of speakers for an event telecasted live on multiple media channels to over 800 million TV viewers. The theme of the event was Education 4.0, The Future of Education in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Prof. William Byrnes had previously received India’s National Board of Accreditation’s 2012 academic achievement award for pioneering distance learning. The Press and moderators included television personalities from the likes of CNN-IBN, CNBC, Sky News, HARDtalk-BBC and ITV News.

On May 19th Professor William Byrnes was a featured speaker of the 16th Annual Security Conference. Featured speakers of the 16th Annual conference include national security government experts such as Noël Richards, National Security Agency (NSA), Preston Ackerman, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Pamela Sydelco, Global Security Sciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory. William Byrne spoke on “Incentivizing Good Tax Administrations among the World of Black Hat and Grey Hat Governments: A Carrot & Stick Policy Proposal”.

Professor William Byrnes will present at the 35th annual Cambridge Economic Crimes Symposium on Friday September 8th on the topic of the uses by governments of disclosures of wealth by residents. His publisher, Lexis stated that “Another area where Professor Byrnes is making a name for himself as a top authority is the federal tax law known as “FATCA”. Since Prof. William Byrnes wrote the first edition of Lexis Guide to FATCA & CRS Compliance in Spring of 2012, the industry leading 2,000 page analysis of the FATCA and CRS compliance challenges has expanded to 80 chapters.

William Byrnes Helps Make Transfer Pricing Easy to Understand

Practical Guide to U.S. Transfer Pricing
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William Byrnes, Professor and Associate Dean at the Texas A&M University School of Law, has authored 30 books as well as hundreds of published articles relating to tax and financial crimes over the past 20 years. One of Professor William Byrnes’ recent published works is Practical Guide to U.S. Transfer Pricing, Third Edition, which is available in both print and electronic format and can be found online at the LexisNexis store.

Transfer price is referred to as the price agreed upon for goods, services, or intangible property between entities within a corporate enterprise; subsidiary and its parent company. This reference volume is focused on its goal of assisting multinationals in integrating transfer pricing procedures and rules set forth by the United States.

With international standards set forth by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in mind, the Practical Guide to U.S. Transfer Pricing, Third Edition, is intended for both private and governmental tax administrators, as well as domestic and international corporate executives.

The Benefits of Distance Education in Law Schools

William Byrnes
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Professor William Byrnes, associate dean at Texas A&M University’s law school, is the author of 30 books and other publications. William Byrnes is a pioneer in the field of distance education, having created the first online master of laws program from an accredited school in 1994.

Law schools are increasingly choosing to offer educational options online, though there is still some resistance from those that feel in-person learning is the only way to get an effective degree. The legal profession is changing, however. Perhaps because of the difficult economy, law schools are seeing up to a 40 percent decrease in enrollment. Online learning may be the solution to keeping students abreast of the newest information and technology in law while keeping the schools running.

Distance education can allow for flexible hours with no commute, for those who need to be able to keep their day jobs. By offering online programming, schools can serve a much larger population of students than could be reasonably held in a physical classroom. As the economy and the capabilities of technology evolve, online education may be the best way to stay flexible and evolve with a school’s studentship.

The Origins of FATCA

William Byrnes has authored more than 30 books addressing matters of taxes and finances that have moved over 100,000 combined copies. Williams Byrnes wrote his most recent book, the LexisNexis Guide to FATCA Compliance, which has become the financial industry’s desk reference handbook for addressing automatic exchange of information.

Put into effect in 2010, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) serves as the United States’ basis for collecting financial information about US taxpayers from foreign financial institutions like banks, investment funds, and trust companies. The origins of the act can be traced back to 2009 when the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) collected a $780 million penalty from Switzerland’s UBS AG. The penalty came in connection with countless American citizens who failed to pay taxes on their international income, regardless of their place of residence. A number of Swiss banks have since entered into non prosecution agreements, including a record $2.6 billion fine levied against Credit Suisse.

With the increase of fines, international banking has arguably become more transparent. The OECD has copied FATCA and is pushing to have all countries adopt it to share the financial information of taxpayers with each other. The OECD’s transparency initiatives, called the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), will go into effect globally in 2017 among at least 70 countries. The US has signed FATCA agreements, known as IGAs, with over 100 countries, and to date almost 150,000 foreign financial institutions have registered with the US, agreeing to provide Treasury the financial information of US taxpayers.

An Overview of Tax Facts on Individuals and Small Businesses

The pioneering leader of online legal studies, William Byrnes serves as associate dean of graduate and distance education at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law. He possesses substantial experience as a tax attorney, and worked with public companies as a senior manager and associate director of Coopers & Lybrand’s international tax department. William Byrnes has authored more than 1,000 publications providing insight into financial law, and as author of National Underwriter’s Tax Facts series of books [for tax, financial and estate planning professionals], that having sold in excess of 100,000 copies in print and online, he is a best-selling author in the professional markets. a book for popular Tax Facts series.

National Underwriter’s Tax Facts publications aim to clarify complicated tax issues for financial professionals. Its most recent addition, Tax Facts on Individuals & Small Businesses, serves as a valuable reference for financial experts providing services such as planning, insurance, and legal counsel to individuals and small organizations. The book delivers information in Tax Facts’ familiar Q&A style to provide ready access to succinct guidance on various taxation matters.

The book is divided into seventeen chapters spanning a wide range of topics. With sections covering charitable donations, losses due to theft or failed investments, and both federal and investment income tax, the publication answers many questions that may be posed by both individuals and companies. Other chapters address topics particularly applicable to small business owners, including small business valuation, succession, employer-sponsored benefits, and expense deductions.