经济学人81:金钱的罪恶

 Banking¹ and crime金钱的罪恶Hitting at terrorists, hurting businesses打击恐怖，损害金融。

Forcing banks to police the financial system is causing nasty side effects迫使银行监督金融机构会造成令人厌恶的副作用。

KIDNAPPINGS for ransom², drug-smuggling, fake invoicing³ and extortion are just a few of the ways in which terrorists raise cash for their nefarious⁴ deeds. Some scams take advantage of globalisation: American officials found that Hizbullah, a Lebanese movement, raised funds by exporting used cars from America and selling them in west Africa.

绑架勒索赎金，毒品走私，假发票和敲诈勒索只是恐怖分子筹集现金途径的冰山一角，全球化为恐怖分子资金募集提供了便利，美国官员发现一个黎巴嫩真主党运动，依靠向西非出口来自美国的二手车筹集资金。

金钱的罪恶.jpgGovernments are understandably keen to cut terrorists off from sources of cash, and have been taking drastic steps to punish banks for involvement in financing dangerous people. In 2012 the American authorities imposed a $1.9 billion fine on HSBC, a British bank, for lax controls on money-laundering. Big fines have been meted⁵ out to Barclays, ING and Standard Chartered for money-laundering or sanctions-busting. BNP Paribas of France is said to be facing a fine of as much as $10 billion in America. Such stiff penalties are popular, and provide great press for ambitious prosecutors⁶. Cut the flow of money to terrorism, their thinking goes, and it will wither⁷.

政府希望减少恐怖分子从资金来源，并已采取行动来惩罚同恐怖活动有金融活动来往的银行。2012美国当局向英国汇丰银行罚款19亿美元，原因是未能有效防控恐怖组织洗钱。巴克莱银行，荷兰国际集团和渣打银行已经由于涉嫌帮助恐怖组织洗钱或违反制裁而受到巨额罚款。法国巴黎银行表示，将面临来自美国10亿美元的罚款。严厉的惩罚成为涉恐案件检察官常用的手段，他们认为这样可以削减资金流向恐怖主义，这种方法是否有效还有待商榷。

Yet there are two problems with this approach. First, the regulations are so demanding and the fines so large that banks are walking away from countries and businesses where they perceive even the faintest whiff of risk. American regulators, for instance, require banks to know not only who their customers are, and what they plan to do with their cash, but also the identities and intentions of their customers' customers. Correspondent-banking relationships—the arteries⁸ of global finance that allow people and firms to send money from one country to another, even if their own bank does not have a branch there—are therefore collapsing⁹. Some of world's biggest banks privately¹⁰ say they are cutting as many as a third of these relationships.

然而，这种方法有两个问题。第一，政策非常苛刻，罚款数额巨大，大银行很可能会规避可能涉及恐怖犯罪的国家和商业领域。举个例子，美国监管机构要求银行不仅了解他们的顾客、顾客投资的方向，而且他们客户的客户的身份信息和投资意图也需要了解。银行交易代理是国际金融的动脉，他们让资金在全球公司之间流动，即使他们自己的银行没有设计恐怖注意，却也有有因此而破产的。世界最大的一些银行私下里说他们切断这一部分业务的1/3。

This retreat will have little impact on the rich world. Britain's Lloyds Banking Group, say, will probably always transact¹¹ with Wells Fargo in America or ICBC in China. But it could prove devastating¹² to small, poor countries whose banks lose their big international partners just because the costs of checking up on them outweigh¹³ the paltry¹⁴ profits they generate. Some countries risk being cut off from the financial system altogether: British banks last year threatened to close the last pipeline¹⁵ for money transfers into Somalia. Others will see the costs of intermediation rise: bankers talk of a tenfold increase in fees paid to send money to countries such as Tanzania. Cotton farmers in Mali and small exporters in Indonesia will find it increasingly hard to get trade finance. Even well-known charities responding to UN calls for assistance in countries such as Syria are struggling to get banks to let them send aid.

金融行业业务的缩减比如对发达国家的影响不大。英国的劳埃德银行集团可能会一直进行同美国威尔斯Fargo或中国中国工商银行的合作，但对贫穷小国家产生毁灭性打击，贫困国家的银行失去国际合作伙伴只是因为对这些国家涉恐审核的成本大于他们微薄的经济活动利润。一些国家为了继续国际贸易，冒着同全球金融脱离的风险：英国银行去年威胁要关闭到索马里的资金渠道。另外应该注意的是经济活动中间成本的增加：同坦桑尼亚这样的国家进行经济活动的成本增加了十倍。印度尼西亚的小商品出口商和马里种棉花的农民会发现越来越难获得贸易融资。甚至著名的慈善机构也在联合国寻求银行对叙利亚的援助。

Making it harder to follow the money资金去处难以跟踪Were all of this actually preventing terrorism it might be judged a fair trade-off. Yet—and this is the second problem with this approach—it seems likely to be ineffective or even counter-productive. Terrorism is not particularly expensive, and the money needed to finance it can travel by informal routes. In 2012 guards on the border between Nigeria and Niger arrested a man linked to Boko Haram, a Nigerian terror group, with 35,000 in his underpants: laughable, except that the group has killed around 1,500 people this year alone. Restrictions¹⁶ on banks will encourage terrorists to avoid the banking system. That may hinder rather than help the fight against terrorism. A former spy complains that it has become harder to piece together intelligence on terrorist networks now that the money flows within them are entirely¹⁷ illicit¹⁸.

所有的措施都是希望公平的权衡各国的涉恐情况然而，这是这种方法似乎很可能是无效甚至适得其反。而涉恐惩罚的第二个问题是，恐怖主义并非成本高昂，和资金可以通过非正式的方式涉及恐怖主义。2012年，警卫在尼日利亚和尼日尔之间的边境逮捕了一名与尼日利亚的恐怖集团博科圣地有关系的恐怖分子，35000英镑可笑的藏在他的内裤，希望该恐怖集团一年内造成约1500人死亡。惩罚涉恐银行的措施可能使得恐怖主义绕开银行系统，这可能会阻碍而不是帮助打击恐怖主义。一位曾经做过间谍的抱怨说，现在更加难以拼凑出恐怖分子完整的行动计划，网络空间上他们的资金难以追踪。

When the G20 meets later this year it should urge its members to accept the risk that even in well-regulated banking systems money may find its way to terrorists. Banks should be given clear guidance on necessary safeguards, but not held responsible for every breach¹⁹.

在今年召开的20国集团峰会应向其成员传达这样的信息，即使在良好银行监管下的资金也可能会流入恐怖主义的腰包。银行应给予资金流动必要的保障措施和明确的指导，但不能对每种渠道负责。

1 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

2 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

3 invoicing   

货品计价

参考例句：

• We're also responsible for invoicing customers, and for credit control. 我们也负责给顾客开发票，和信贷控制。 来自实用商务英语会话
• The government sets base import prices to check under-invoicing from exporters. 印度政府设定进口基价是为了制止出口商少开发票金额。

4 nefarious   

adj.恶毒的，极坏的

参考例句：

• My father believes you all have a nefarious purpose here.我父亲认为你们都有邪恶的目的。
• He was universally feared because of his many nefarious deeds.因为他干了许多罪恶的勾当，所以人人都惧怕他。

5 meted   

v.（对某人）施以，给予（处罚等）( mete的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The severe punishment was meted out to the unruly hooligan. 对那个嚣张的流氓已给予严厉惩处。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The money was meted out only after it had been carefully counted. 钱只有仔细点过之后才分发。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

7 wither   

vt.使凋谢，使衰退，(用眼神气势等)使畏缩；vi.枯萎，衰退，消亡

参考例句：

• She grows as a flower does-she will wither without sun.她象鲜花一样成长--没有太阳就会凋谢。
• In autumn the leaves wither and fall off the trees.秋天，树叶枯萎并从树上落下来。

8 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

10 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

11 transact   

v.处理；做交易；谈判

参考例句：

• I will transact my business by letter.我会写信去洽谈业务。
• I have been obliged to see him；there was business to transact.我不得不见他，有些事物要处理。

12 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

13 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。

14 paltry   

adj.无价值的，微不足道的

参考例句：

• The parents had little interest in paltry domestic concerns.那些家长对家里鸡毛蒜皮的小事没什么兴趣。
• I'm getting angry;and if you don't command that paltry spirit of yours.我要生气了，如果你不能振作你那点元气。

15 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

16 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

17 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

18 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

19 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。