KARA PARANIN AKLANMASINDA DİJİTAL PARALARIN ETKİSİ: BİTCOİN ÖRNEĞİ

Kara paranın aklanması, yasa dışı yollardan elde edilen illegal kazançların suç faaliyeti ve yasa dışı fonlar arasındaki bağlantıyı gizlemek için sistemden saklanması olarak tanımlanabilir. Kara para aklama genellikle ikincil bir eylem olup, öncesinde yasa dışı bir eylem, diğer bir ifadeyle öncül suç gelmektedir. Kara para aklama küresel anlamda ciddi bir sorundur çünkü yıkıcı ekonomik etkileri bulunmaktadır aynı zamanda terörün finansmanıyla da yakından ilgilidir. Kara para aklama suçu her ne kadar yeni olmasa da kara paranın aklanmasında dijital paraların kullanılması oldukça yenidir. Bitcoin, Litecoin, Liberty Reserve, Perfect Money ve WebMoney gibi sanal paraların son on yılda popülerlik kazandığı görülmektedir. 2009 senesi kripto paralar için son derece önemli bir yıldır çünkü bir ödeme şeklinde yaratılan Bitcoin çarpıcı bir biçimde artan fiyatı ile finans dünyasında ilgi odağı oldu. Bu ödeme biçimi Satoshi Nakamoto kod adlı kişi veya grup tarafından Bitcoin: A peer-to peer Electronic Cash System (Eşler arası bir elektronik nakit sistemi) adlı makale ile dünyaya tanıtıldı. Bilindiği üzere Bitcoin bir merkez bankasına ihtiyaç duyulmaksızın işlemlerin yapılabildiği sanal bir paradır. Bitcoin’in anonim, neredeyse izlenemez doğası, kaçınılmaz bir şekilde suçluları bu para birimine çekmiş, dolayısıyla kara paranın aklanmasında Bitcoin başta olmak üzere dijital paralar önem kazanmıştır. Bu çalışmada kara paranın aklanmasında Bitcoin özelinde kripto paraların rolü hakkında bilgi verilmeye çalışılacaktır.

THE EFFECT OF CRYPTO-CURRENCIES ON MONEY LAUNDERING: BITCOIN EVIDENCE

Money laundering can be defined as stocking revenues in system in order to hide the link of illegal revenues from crime operations. Money laundering is a secondary act. The first act becomes crime or illegal operation.  Money laundering is a serious crime and results in devastating economic effects with terror financing. Money laundering is an old concept. However, using crypto-currencies in money laundering is new phenomenon. It is found that Bitcoin, Litecoin, Liberty Reserve, Perfect Money and WebMoney have become popular among crypto-currencies in recent years. The year 2009 is a quite important year for cryptocurrencies because Bitcoin, which was formed as a payment, has been a limelight in the financial world with its dramatically increasing price. This form of payment was introduced to the world by a person or group codenamed Satoshi Nakamoto with an article called ‘Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer Electronic Cash System’. Bitcoin, as it is known, is a virtual currency in which transactions can be made without the need for a central bank. The anonymous, almost untraceable nature of bitcoin has inevitably attracted criminals to this currency; hence digital coins, particularly Bitcoin, have become important in laundering money. In this study, it is going to be tried to present information about the role of cryptocurrencies, in particular about Bitcoin, in laundering money.

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