English for customs officers

III. Agree or disagree with the following statements. Give your reasons. Discuss your answers with your partner. Supply some additional information.

1.Training of officers in the field of communications will always remain important.

2.It is thought that the overwhelming priority of Customs activity is the fight against commercial fraud in all its manifestations.

3.Recently political and economic changes – most spectacularly in a large number of transition and developing economies – have emphasized the values of market-based competition.

3.Policies directed at protecting and supporting «domestic» firms and products have become more difficult to implement, not least because of the difficulty of identifying «national origin» with a real meaning in a globalizing world.

4.Market-based approaches and competition values in domestic policy are equally desirable internationally.

5.Lack of (or constraints on) market competition can give rise to international friction.

6.Foreign goods, services, ideas, investments and business people have to be able to benefit from opportunities to compete in the market on terms equal or comparable to those enjoyed by local producers.

UNIT 14. CUSTOMS OFFENCES

Study the following words and word combinations from the text.

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TEXT 14.1. CUSTOMS OFFENCES

(Excerpts from Specific Annex H.2 concerning Customs offences)

The primary task of Customs is to ensure compliance with Customs law. Customs offence means any breach or attemted breach of Customs law1. Offences against Customs law are prejudicial to the economic, social and fiscal interests of States and to the legitimate interests of trade. Customs offences may be dealt with by the Customs authorities, in accordance with procedures laid down in national legislation. In this case only Customs offences which are regarded as relatively serious are

brought before the administrative tribunals or courts of law.

National legislation confers upon the Customs authorities a wide range of investigatory powers in connection with Customs offences. For example, they can examine the production of documents and search persons and premises.

When a Customs offence has been established, the Customs authorities are empowered, in certain circumstances, to take the necessary precautionary measures and, in particular, to seize or detain the goods

1 International Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance for the Prevention, Investigation and Repression of Customs Offences (Nairobi, 9 June 1977).

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and means of transport The penalties applied in respect of Customs offences vary according to the seriousness or the importance of the offences. Customs offences which are regarded as particularly serious may have severe consequences. In case of offences which are regarded as of minor importance a small fine is imposed.

If there is no fraudulent intent, there is normally no penalty. These are the cases of an inadvertent error, through force majeure or other circumstances beyond the control of the person concerned. National legislation shall specify which persons can be held responsible in connection with the commission of a Customs offence.

Depending on the seriousness of the Customs offence, the Customs authorities may be empowered to require security, to seize or detain the goods and means of transport, or to detain the persons concerned and hand them over to other competent authorities.

After discovering a Customs offence the Customs authorities shall inform the person concerned as soon as possible of the nature of the alleged offence, the legal provisions that may have been contravened and, as appropriate, the possible penalties.

Goods shall not be seized or detained unless they are liable to forfeiture or adequate security cannot be given or they may be required to be produced as evidence at some later stage in the procedure or are subject to prohibitions or restrictions.

The penalties commonly applicable are fines, forfeiture of the goods and, where appropriate, forfeiture of the means of transport.

In cases where penalties are applied, the following Customs offences should be punishable only by a small fine provided that there is no question of fraudulent intent:

•failure to present goods within a specified time limit;

•failure to follow the itinerary prescribed for the conveyance of goods under Customs control;

•failure to produce documents or information within a specified time limit.

The fines are normally based on the amount of the duties and taxes evaded or unduly repaid and not on the value of the goods.

(International Convention on the simplification and harmonization of Customs procedures.

Kyoto, 18 May 1973)

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EXERCISES

I. Match the words from the text with their corresponding definitions.

II. Find the synonyms by matching left to the right (sometimes more than one option is possible).

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III. Sort out the following words by putting them into two columns.

to smuggle, to detain goods, to impose a fine, to change a certain itinerary, to seize goods, to hand the persons concerned over to other competent authorities, the forfeiture of means of transport, to evade duties and taxes, breach of the statutory provisions

IV. Match left to the right to complete the sentences by adding if or unless.

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V. Translate into English.

1.Какие нарушения таможенных правил передаются в административные органы или в суд?

2.Какие полномочия, связанные с расследованием таможенных нарушений, национальное законодательство делегируется таможенным властям?

3.Когда могут быть предприняты необходимые меры предосторожности по задержанию груза?

4.В каких случаях таможенные нарушения имеют серьезные последствия?

5.Какой штраф налагается при отсутствии умышленного намерения нарушить правила?

6.Когда таможенные власти имеют право задержания определенных лиц и передачи их другим компетентным органам?

7.Кого следует проинформировать таможенным властям о характере предполагаемого нарушения и возможных санкциях?

8.В каких случаях не следует конфисковывать или задерживать товары?

9.Какие таможенные нарушения влекут за собой лишь небольшой штраф?

10.Зависит ли размер штрафа от величины таможенных пошлин

исборов?

VI. Speculate about the following.

1.The necessary precautionary measures taken by the Customs authorities.

2.A usual procedure after discovering a Customs offence.

3.Customs offences punishable only by a small fine.

4.Crime doesn't pay. (рroverb)

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TEXT 14.2. MONEY LAUNDERING

The growth in international trade, the expansion of the global financial system, the lowering of barriers to international travel, and the surge in the internalization of organized crime have combined to provide the source, opportunity, and means for converting illegal proceeds into what appears to be legitimate funds.

Money laundering1 happens in almost every country in the world, and a single scheme typically involves transferring money through several countries in order to obscure its origins.

Money laundering, at its simplest, is the act of making money that comes from Source A look like it comes from Source B. In practice, criminals are trying to disguise the origins of money obtained through illegal activities so it looks like it was obtained from legal sources. Otherwise, they can't use the money because it would connect them to the criminal activity, and law-enforcement officials would seize it.

The rise of global financial markets makes money laundering easier than ever – countries with bank-secrecy2 laws are directly connected to countries with bank-reporting laws, making it possible to anonymously deposit «dirty» money in one country and then have it transferred to any other country for use.

Examples of money laundering activities include organized crime, drug trafficking, prostitution, gambling, funding terrorism, illegal arms sales and smuggling. Regarding the financial services industry, money laundering activities include embezzlement, insider trading, bribery, tax evasion and fraud schemes.

The basic money laundering process has three stages:

1. Placement. The physical disposal of cash proceeds derived from illegal activity. At this stage, the launderer inserts the dirty money into a

1Money laundering – the crime of moving money that has been obtained illegally through banks and other businesses to make it seem as if the money has been obtained legally (Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus Cambridge University Press).

2Bank secrecy is a legal principle in some jurisdictions under which banks are not allowed to provide to authorities personal and account information about their customers unless certain conditions apply (for example, a criminal complaint has been filed.

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legitimate financial institution. This is often in the form of cash bank deposits. This is the riskiest stage of the laundering process because large amounts of cash are pretty conspicuous, and banks are required to report high-value transactions.

2.Layering. It involves sending the money through various financial transactions by creating complex layers of financial transactions designed to disguise the audit trail and provide anonymity. Layering may consist of several bank-to-bank transfers, wire transfers between different accounts in different names in different countries, making deposits and withdrawals to continually vary the amount of money in the accounts, changing the money's currency, and purchasing high-value items (boats, houses, cars, diamonds) to change the form of the money. This is the most complex step in any laundering scheme, and it's all about making the original dirty money as hard to trace as possible.

3.Integration. The provision of apparent legitimacy to criminally derived wealth. At this stage, the money re-enters the mainstream economy in legitimate-looking form – it appears to come from a legal transaction. This may involve a final bank transfer into the account of a local business in which the launderer is «investing» in exchange for a cut of the profits, the sale of a yacht bought during the layering stage or of the profits, the sale of a yacht bought during the layering stage or the purchase of a $10 million screwdriver from a company owned by the launderer. At this point, the criminal can use the money without getting caught. It's very difficult to catch a launderer during the integration stage if there is no documentation during the previous stages.

The three basic stages may occur as separate and distinct phases; they may occur simultaneously; or, more commonly, they may overlap. How the basic steps are used depends on the available laundering mechanisms and the requirements of the criminal organizations.

Money laundering has become a global problem. It can have devastating effects on the soundness of financial institutions and undermine the political stability of democratic nations.

The international response to laundering has taken a number of forms, including multilateral treaties, regional agreements, international organizations, and the identification of universal counter-laundering measures.

The Vienna Convention of 1988 represents the first concerted effort to influence the international community's response to drug money laundering.

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It requires the parties to take specific actions, including steps to enact domestic laws criminalizing the laundering of money derived from drug trafficking and provide for the forfeiture of property derived from such offenсes. The treaty also promotes international cooperation as a key to reducing the global threat of money laundering and requires states to provide assistance in obtaining relevant financial records when requested to do so without regard to domestic bank secrecy laws.

The Council of Europe is a regional organization established to strengthen democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in its Member States, in part, by harmonizing its policies and encouraging the adoption of common practices and standards. It adopted the Strasbourg Convention in November 1990, which requires each party to adopt legislation that criminalizes money laundering. The treaty also requires signatories to adopt laws authorizing the forfeiture of the proceeds of serious offences. Members must provide investigative assistance to foreign jurisdictions regarding forfeiture cases and take appropriate measures to prevent disposal of subject property prior to confiscation.

There are countless organizations trying to get a handle on the problem. In the United States, the Department of Justice, the State Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service and the Drug Enforcement Agency all have divisions investigating money laundering and the underlying financial structures that make it work. State and local police also investigate cases that fall under their jurisdiction. Due to the fact that global financial systems play a major role in most high-level laundering schemes, the international community is fighting money laundering through various means, including the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF). The United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund also have anti-money-laundering divisions.

Most countries now have implemented principles and rules to combat money laundering. These rules should be implemented according to each country's specific circumstances and constitutional framework, allowing flexibility. In their fight for combating money laundering countries should:

Determine which serious crimes would be designated as money laundering offences.

Take measures including legislative ones, to enable it to criminalize money laundering and should consider both monetary and civil penalties.

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