How do drug dealers launder their money?

Drug cartels hide their profits by flushing them through the vast global financial market, using various methods including internet payment platforms, cryptocurrencies, payment cards and real estate. Then, they use the laundered cash to underwrite their trafficking.

Why does illegal money need to be laundered?

Money laundering is essential for criminal organizations that wish to use illegally obtained money effectively. Criminals need a way to deposit the money in legitimate financial institutions, yet they can only do so if it appears to come from legitimate sources.

Why do people launder money?

Why do people launder money? Criminals commit three basic types of crime – crimes of passion or honour, crimes of violence or vandalism and economic crimes. Ignoring minor vandalism, most crime is economic crime – that is crime that is committed to make money.

How much money is laundering worth?

Globally, estimates go as high as $2 trillion, or as much as 5\% of the world’s GDP. The advent of digital banking and cash management has made moving money quickly and covertly easier than ever by criminals, making laundering one of the biggest crimes of our time.

How do criminals launder money?

Even though the practice has been around for centuries and has gotten increasingly complex, there are still just three basic steps that criminals employ to launder money: placement, layering and integration. Once dirty money is obtained by criminals, placement is the first step.

What is money laundering and how does it work?

Simply, money laundering is taking illegally-obtained money and making it look like it was earned legally instead. This is done by criminals through certain kinds of transactions, investments in assets, and other moves that hide the original source of the funds.