Money laundering and terrorist financing as preventive criminalizations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Modern times are marked by the march of preventive theories of punishment. Prevention is a promise of benefit, of social utility, as accordingly the practices of punishment promise us an impact on future offending. Preventionism has often been understood as a problem and even as a threat, since setting such a vague goal on our criminal law and criminal justice, we might risk loosening all the limiting principles concerning what can be done by means of criminal law. It is precisely these concerns that have triggered a growing interest in the topic. In the following, we will first present some historical lines of development which have prepared us for a turn towards prevention. Interventionist policies of the state towards society are nothing new themselves. My own take on the subject will be exemplified in a discussion of two recent areas of intensive international regulation: money laundering and terrorist financing.