CLAW6031 GROUP RESEARCH PAPER
Semester 2, 2023 INSTRUCTIONS AND TOPICS
This assessment is a GROUP research assignment. Students will form a group of 5-6 students.
Students must complete ONE of the research questions that are listed below.
The research paper is worth 40% of your total grade. Students should write a TOTAL of 3,000
words. This does NOT include REFERENCES (e.g., bibliography, in-text references,
footnotes). If you write more than 3,000 words (not including references), the additional words
will not be evaluated; that is, you will not get any extra marks. The font should be TIMES
NEW ROMAN (size 12) and in Microsoft Word format.
Students should be selective in the material that they use and ensure that is both SIGNIFICANT
and RELEVANT to answering the question. This assignment is a RESEARCH exercise.
Therefore, students should use at least THREE reliable ACADEMIC SOURCES in their
assignments, namely academic journal articles or books, including the compulsory academic
source on the topic that you have chosen. Note that the sourcebook/textbook and PowerPoints
are not counted as an academic source.
It is necessary for students to read and use the compulsory text in answering the research
question. If a group does not expressly use a compulsory text, the maximum mark is 50% of
the total mark, i.e., 20 marks.
You must be careful to not copy from any source without giving full acknowledgement of the
source. You should give proper referencing, i.e., use the Harvard system of referencing [which
can be found at https://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/c.php?g=508212&p=3476130], or the APA
system of referencing [which can be found at https://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/citation/apa7]
[see https://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/c.php?g=508212&p=3476063]. This may mean you
give in-text referencing. For example – [author’s last name/surname, year of publication, page
number]. It is important that, when you have decided on a citation style, you are consistent and
keep within the rules of the citation style.”
“Turnitin” similarity index – this semester you will be able to see the Turnitin similarity
percentage on submission. Please note the percentage and if it is over 35% similarity, please
consider revising your submission and re-submit (there are no limits to the amount of time you
submit. Only the latest submission will be marked). AI (artificial intelligence) generated text
may be able to be detected by Turnitin – please ensure you consider the University’s policy
about utilizing AI generated text submitted for marking. Generally, if you use AI generated text
you will need to cite the AI text generated in your submission – failure to cite or ‘quote’ the AI
generated text could lead to academic dishonesty proceedings.
A group should not copy another group’s work, since this will be considered plagiarism. Serious
penalties may apply to cases of plagiarism, including failure of the subject.
DUE DATE: This research paper must be submitted through TURNITIN by FRIDAY 20
October 2023 at 23.59/11.59 pm (one minute to twelve noon – SYDNEY TIME). Penalties
apply to late submissions.
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You have the choice of doing 1 (and only one) of the following 6 research questions.
Research Questions:
1. “Ransomware is a cyber-crime that cannot be prevented. Therefore, countries
should focus their resources on investigating and prosecuting cybercriminals who
engage in ransomware.”
Do you agree with this opinion. You must give reasons for your answer. Discuss the
opinion by providing a comparative study of the experience of the United States and
at least 1 other country/ jurisdiction in combatting ransomware.
Compulsory Source
Lubin, Asaf. “The Law and Politics of Ransomware.” SSRN Scholarly Paper. Rochester,
NY, August 4, 2022. https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=4181964.
2. “The Risk-Based Approach (RBA) should be abandoned because it has not been
effective in deterring money laundering or the financing of terrorism. A rules-based
approach to Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing is simpler, more efficient
and effective.”
Do you agree with this opinion. You must give reasons for your answer. Discuss the
opinion by referring to the RBA which has been applied to two sectors of the
economy, including the real estate market.
Compulsory Source
FATF (2022), Guidance for a Risk-Based Approach to the Real Estate Sector, FATF,
Paris. Available at www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/documents/Guidance-RBA-Real-
Estate-Sector.html
3. “The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has mandated under Recommendation
24 that all jurisdictions have laws disclosing the beneficial ownership of companies.
Australia has failed to comply with the FATF Standards on beneficial ownership of
companies because they are impractical and ineffective in preventing financial
crimes, such as tax evasion.”
Do you agree with this opinion? You must give reasons for your answer and discuss
the laws and policies on beneficial ownership in relation to 2 or more countries,
including Australia.
Compulsory Source
Australian Government (2022), Multinational Tax Integrity: Public Beneficial Ownership
Register, Consultation Paper, Department of Treasury, Canberra. Available at
https://treasury.gov.au/consultation/c2022-322265
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4. Anti-Money Laundering and Professionals
“There is little, if any, justification for the FATF Standard that require lawyers to
report suspicious transactions about their clients or otherwise enact comprehensive
Anti-Money Laundering regulation of lawyers.”
Do you agree with this statement? You must give reasons for your answer. In
answering the question, you must refer to 2 or more countries, including one
country that has not adequately implemented the FATF Standard (e.g. United
States, Australia) and one country that has complied with the Standard (e.g.
member of the European Union, United Kingdom) in relation to Designated non-
financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs).
Compulsory Source
Michael Levi (2022) Lawyers as money laundering enablers? An evolving and
contentious relationship’, Global Crime, 23:2, 126-146. Available at
https://doi.org/10.1080/17440572.2022.2089122
5. PEP Regulation and Corruption
“Global Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulation of Political Exposed Persons
(PEPs) has failed to deter the misuse of the financial system by corrupt PEPs. It is
too easy for PEPs to conceal their identity and their beneficial ownership of
companies. The solution is to ban all foreign PEPs from having bank accounts.”
Do you agree with this opinion? You must give reasons for your answer. In
answering the question, you should discuss how 2 or more countries, including the
United States of America, have dealt with PEPs under their AML laws.
Compulsory Source:
Kang, Sungyong (2018) Rethinking the Global Anti-money Laundering Regulations to
Deter Corruption, International and Comparative Law Quarterly vol 67, July 2018, pp
695-720. Available https://ssrn.com/abstract=3430159
6. Digital Currencies Regulation and Financial Sanctions
“Digital currencies provide the easiest method for evading financial sanctions,
whether those sanctions are imposed by the United Nations Security Council or are
unilateral sanctions imposed by countries, such as the United States. However, in
the real-world digital currencies are not as important as fiat currencies in their
utility to evade sanctions.”
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Do you agree with this opinion? You must give reasons for your answer. In
answering the question, you should discuss both the UN Security Council and the
United States’ unilateral sanctions regimes.
Compulsory Source:
Wronka, Christoph, Digital currencies and economic sanctions: the increasing risk of
sanction evasion, Journal of Financial Crime, Vol 29 No 4 2022 pp 1269-1282