Laundering Sexual Deviance: Targeting Online Pornography through Anti-money Laundering

This paper concentrates on cyber-pornography/obscenity, which encompasses online publications or distribution of sexually explicit material in breach of the English obscenity and indecency laws. After examining the major deficiencies of the attempts to restrict illegal pornographic representations, the authors aim to highlight that the debate regarding their availability in the Internet era neglects the lucrative nature of the circulation of such material, which can be also targeted through anti-money laundering. Rising profits fuel the need to recycle the money back into the legal financial system, with a view to concealing their illegal origin. Anti-money laundering laws require disclosure of any 'suspicion' related to money laundering, thus opening another door for law enforcement to reach the criminal.