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: Mar 20, 2019 12:05 PM EDT
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Money laundering has been around for 2,000 years, and it's still pervasive - and just as hard to track - today. Money laundering is a criminal endeavor that's more pervasive than you might think. According to government sources, between $800 billion and $2 trillion in cash is laundered internationally on an annual basis. By definition, money laundering is a practice that turns money received illegally into money that is deemed legal. The crime comes from hiding the ill-gotten gains from law enforcement officials in the process, often through intricate and complex financial transactions that flow around the world. 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.