Title: What Is Money Laundering and What Is Its History? - TheStreet
Headings: What Is Money Laundering and What Is Its History?
What Is Money Laundering and What Is Its History?
Money laundering has been around for 2,000 years, and it's still pervasive - and just as hard to track - today.
Money Laundering Broken Down
History of Money Laundering
Steps Used in Money Laundering
1. Placement
2. Layering
3. Integration
The Amount of Money to Be Laundered Matters
Money Laundering in the 21st Century

Content: To criminals, running dirty money through the wash allows them to spend that money without fear of reprisal. Otherwise, spending stolen cash represents a risk the law enforcement officials will run down the cash transactions stemming from illegal activity and tie those transactions back to the criminal. In that scenario, the money would be seized and the criminals will go to jail. Money Laundering Broken Down
Think of money laundering as the handling of two forms of money - "dirty" cash earned illegally and "clean cash" that comes out of a money laundering campaign. The laundering of dirty money occurs when the perpetrators steer the ill-gotten cash through one or, more likely, several legitimate businesses or financial institutions to legitimize the money. In that regard, money laundering is a criminal offense, as the act of hiding illegally obtained cash is a crime all its own. In the U.S., states have different interpretations of what money laundering is (and money laundering is criminalized under both state and federal statutes.) But in general, any action to hide money illegally obtained by laundering is a criminal offense. To help law enforcement officials get a better handle on prosecuting money laundering cases, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that, to make a case against money laundering, prosecutors must demonstrate that an individual hid money specifically to suppress the location, ownership, origin, nature, and control of the cash that was laundered. The Court ruled that money laundering wasn't an offense because of the simple act of "hiding" money - it became a criminal offense when the cash was taken and moved through channels to give it the air of legitimacy.