Money Laundering

The term "money-laundering" means the processing of criminal proceeds to disguise their illegal orgin.It is a process whereby "dirty money" from criminal activities is changed or "washed" through apparently legitimate transactions and processes, so that the money appears to originate from legitimate sources. According to the OECD, there are three recognised stages in money laundering: Placement; Layering; Integration. Our graphics depict each of these stages.

UK-National Criminal IntelligenceService

The law enforcement agency expects the number of suspicious activity reports from regulated business to increase from 95,000 in 2003 to as many as 200,000 in 2004. From March 1 in the UK accountants, lawyers, casino ownersand estate agents will be subject to disclosure obligations. Banks are already required to do so. From 1 April dealers in high value goods such as art, cars and jewellery must also comply.

See Paul Cummins' article on Money Laundering through London dated 1 November 2004

Definition of money laundering

These graphics set out the definition of money-laundering as per the Financial Action Taskforce of the OECD and the Law Society of Ireland