Case Studies of Corporate- -Related Financial Institutions Promoting Selfish Interests through Money Laundering and Associated Unethical-Based Business Practices

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IntroductionBankruptcy is not the result of unforeseen circumstances or unavoidable actions - - It is the consequence of poor financial management or incorrect techno-economic discussions. Some of the initiatives taken by the international community to obviate the threat of money laundering which poses a threat not only to the financial systems and structure but also to their integrity and sovereignty of nations have analysed.It is true but a sad commentary that today's business world has been characterised by moral bankruptcy violating all norms of good business ethics which, in turn, has caused mounting financial problems due to frequent bank/ company failures and/or insolvencies - the result of their engaging in fraudulent deals like currency and drug trafficking, money laundering, forged letters of credit and bankers receipts, writing off bad debts to reduced levels of nonperforming assetss etc., on one hand; and, on the other hand, undue interference by advanced developed countries in the territorial and economic sovereignty of developing countries resulting in long-lasting wars causing men, machine - materials' destruction worth billions and billions of dollars.In Adam Smith's view,bankruptcies are most frequent in the most hazardous trades. The most hazardous of all trades, that of a smuggler, though when the adventure succeeds it is likewise the most profitable, is the infallible road to bankruptcy. The presumptuous hope of success seems to act here as upon all other occasions, and to entice so many adventurers into those hazardous trades, that their competition reduces the profit below what is sufficient to compensate the risk. To compensate it completely, the common returns ought, over and above the ordinary profits of stock, not only to make up for all occasional losses, but to afford a surplus profit to the adventurers of the same nature with the profit of insurers. But if the common returns were sufficient for all this, bankruptcies would not be more frequent in these than in other trades'.Case StudiesBad Ethical Business Practices* Enron Corporation : 20021Fictitious Accounts Preparation/Manipulation and Falsification through Network StrategyAmong very recent growth-oriented projects (before its downfall) Enron launhed in 2000 EnronCredit.com - - the first real-time credit department for corporations. Enron Network was created to pursue new market development opportunities in e-commerce across a broad range of industries. Enron and strategic investors - - IBM and America Enonline - - launched The New Power Company - - the first national energy service provider for residential and small businesses in deregulated U.S. energy markets. After acquiring MG pic in May 2000 - - the world's leading publicly-traded metals marketer - - Enron completed its first physical metals transaction on EnronOnline, providing customers with improved pricing, price risk management services and more flexible transactions. Enron signed a long-term agreement with Blockbuster that will enable consumers to receive high-quality, featurelength moves-on-demand via the Enron Intelligent Network. During 2001-2002, Enron inflated profits by nearly one billion dollars and top employees raked in millions of dollars (they should never have received) through complex and special partnerships to hide debt, inflate profits and to engage in allied unethical and heinous business practices. Enron's fictitious/ manipulated accounts provided the key to the company's collapse in 2001.Enron shares closed at $4.01 on the New York Stock Exchange on November 26, 2001 after dipping to atleast an eight-year low of $ 3.76 on November 7 - - it was $7 dipping from $ 11.27 on November 2, 2001. Kenneth L. Lay, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Enron Corpn. resigned on January 21, 2002 (he had taken over as Chairman and CEO in February 1986, seven months after Enron was formed by the merger of Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, Inc. …