Money laundering#Statistics

While existing laws were used to fight money laundering during the period of Prohibition in the United States during the 1930s, dedicated Anti-Money Laundering legislation was only implemented in the 1980s.{{cite web |title=History of Anti-Money Laundering Laws |url=https://www.fincen.gov/history-anti-money-laundering-laws |website=Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) |access-date=15 May 2024 |archive-date=28 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528094059/https://www.fincen.gov/history-anti-money-laundering-laws |url-status=live }} Organized crime received a major boost from Prohibition and a large source of new funds that were obtained from illegal sales of alcohol. The successful prosecution of Al Capone on tax evasion brought in a new emphasis by the state and law enforcement agencies to track and confiscate money, but existing laws against tax evasion could not be used once gangsters started paying their taxes.

In the 1980s, the war on drugs led governments again to turn to money laundering rules in an attempt to track and seize the proceeds of drug crimes in order to catch the organizers and individuals running drug empires. It also had the benefit, from a law enforcement point of view, of turning rules of evidence "upside down". Law enforcers normally have to prove an individual is guilty to seize their property, but with civil forfeiture laws, money can be confiscated and it is up to the individual to prove that the source of funds is legitimate to get the money back.{{Cite news |date=2018-02-03 |title=Russian oligarchs in UK told to explain luxury lifestyles |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-42926819 |access-date=2021-02-17 |archive-date=14 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214044036/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-42926819 |url-status=live }} This makes it much easier for law enforcement agencies and provides for much lower burdens of proof.

However, this process has been abused by some law enforcement agencies to take and keep money without strong evidence of related criminal activity, to be used to supplement their own budgets. Civil asset forfeiture has been harshly criticized by civil liberties advocates for its greatly reduced standards for conviction, reverse onus, financial conflicts of interests arising when the law enforcement agencies who decide whether or not to seize assets stand to keep those assets for themselves,{{cite web|url=http://reason.com/archives/2010/01/26/the-forfeiture-racket |title=The Forfeiture Racket |date=26 January 2010 |publisher=Reason.com |access-date=2013-06-18}}{{cite news| url=http://www.economist.com/node/16219747 | newspaper=The Economist | title=A truck in the dock | date=May 27, 2010}}{{cite web|author=Kevin Drum |url=http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/04/civil-asset-forfeiture |title=Civil Asset Forfeiture |publisher=Mother Jones |date=2010-04-07 |access-date=2013-06-18}}{{cite web|first=Judy |last=Osburn |url=http://www.fear.org/ |title=Forfeiture Endangers American Rights |publisher=FEAR |access-date=2013-06-18}} and violation of separation of powers and due process.{{cite journal | last=Blumenson | first=Eric D. | last2=Nilsen | first2=Eva | title=The Next Stage of Forfeiture Reform | journal=Federal Sentencing Reporter | volume=14 | issue=2 | date=1 October 2001 | issn=1053-9867 | doi=10.1525/fsr.2001.14.2.76 | pages=76–86}}

The 11 September attacks in 2001, which led to the Patriot Act in the U.S. and similar legislation worldwide, led to a new emphasis on money laundering laws to combat terrorism financing.{{Cite web |last=Morris-Cotterill |first=Nigel |date=1999 |title=A brief history of money laundering |url=http://www.countermoneylaundering.com/public/content/brief-history-money-laundering |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224181114/http://www.countermoneylaundering.com/public/content/brief-history-money-laundering |archive-date=24 February 2016 |access-date=17 February 2016 |df=dmy-all}} The Group of Seven (G7) nations used the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering to put pressure on governments around the world to increase surveillance and monitoring of financial transactions and share this information between countries. Starting in 2002, governments around the world upgraded money laundering laws and surveillance and monitoring systems of financial transactions. Anti-money laundering regulations have become a much larger burden for financial institutions and enforcement has stepped up significantly.

During 2011–2015 a number of major banks faced ever-increasing fines for breaches of money laundering regulations. This included HSBC, which was fined $1.9 billion in December 2012,{{Cite news |date=2012-12-11 |title=HSBC agrees $1.9bn US penalties |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-20673466 |access-date=2020-10-05 |archive-date=7 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707111611/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-20673466 |url-status=live }} and BNP Paribas, which was fined $8.9 billion in July 2014 by the U.S. government.{{Cite news |last1=Protess |first1=Ben |last2=Silver-Greenberg |first2=Jessica |author-link2=Jessica Silver-Greenberg |name-list-style= |date=30 June 2014 |title=BNP Paribas Admits Guilt and Agrees to Pay $8.9 Billion Fine to U.S. |work=The New York Times |url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/bnp-paribas-pleads-guilty-in-sanctions-case/ |access-date=1 July 2014 |archive-date=30 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140630202411/http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/bnp-paribas-pleads-guilty-in-sanctions-case/ |url-status=live }} Many countries introduced or strengthened border controls on the amount of cash that can be carried and introduced central transaction reporting systems where all financial institutions have to report all financial transactions electronically. For example, in 2006, Australia set up the AUSTRAC system and required the reporting of all financial transactions.{{Cite web |title=AUSTRAC at a glance |url=http://www.austrac.gov.au/ar-14-15-austrac-at-a-glance |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828034700/http://austrac.gov.au/ar-14-15-austrac-at-a-glance |archive-date=28 August 2016 |access-date=18 August 2016 |publisher=AUSTRAC |df=dmy-all}}

With the surge in digital asset in the late 2010s, there's been a noticeable rise in money laundering and fraud tied to cryptocurrency. In 2021 alone, cybercriminals managed to secure US$14 billion in cryptocurrency through various illicit activities.{{Cite journal |last1=Kerr |first1=David S. |last2=Loveland |first2=Karen A. |last3=Smith |first3=Katherine Taken |last4=Smith |first4=Lawrence Murphy |date=March 2023 |title=Cryptocurrency Risks, Fraud Cases, and Financial Performance |journal=Risks |language=en |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=51 |doi=10.3390/risks11030051 |doi-access=free |issn=2227-9091}}

Chinese organized criminal groups have become the principal money launderers for drug cartels in Mexico, Italy, and elsewhere.{{Cite news |last1=Rotella |first1=Sebastian |author-link=Sebastian Rotella |last2=Berg |first2=Kirsten |date=October 11, 2022 |title=How a Chinese American Gangster Transformed Money Laundering for Drug Cartels |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/china-cartels-xizhi-li-money-laundering |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714080505/https://www.propublica.org/article/china-cartels-xizhi-li-money-laundering |archive-date=July 14, 2023 |access-date=July 13, 2023 |work=ProPublica}}{{Cite news |last=Parodi |first=Emilio |date=2023-04-06 |title=Italian drugs cartels conceal payments via Chinese shadow banks |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italian-drugs-cartels-conceal-payments-via-chinese-shadow-banks-2023-04-06/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714003532/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italian-drugs-cartels-conceal-payments-via-chinese-shadow-banks-2023-04-06/ |archive-date=2023-07-14 |access-date=2023-07-14 |work=Reuters |language=en}}{{Cite news |last= |date=2023-05-30 |title=Italy police arrest 40 mafia suspects for drug smuggling via Chinese money brokers |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italy-police-arrest-40-mafia-suspects-drug-smuggling-via-chinese-money-brokers-2023-05-30/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714003532/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italy-police-arrest-40-mafia-suspects-drug-smuggling-via-chinese-money-brokers-2023-05-30/ |archive-date=2023-07-14 |access-date=2023-07-14 |work=Reuters |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=April 22, 2024 |title=How Chinese networks clean dirty money on a vast scale |url=https://www.economist.com/china/2024/04/22/how-chinese-networks-clean-dirty-money-on-a-vast-scale |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-04-23 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613 |archive-date=23 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423005302/https://www.economist.com/china/2024/04/22/how-chinese-networks-clean-dirty-money-on-a-vast-scale |url-status=live }}

The East and Southeast Asia regions have become areas of major concern for money laundering. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime noted in a 2019 transnational organised crime assessment that threats arising from organized crime in Southeast Asia were becoming more deeply integrated within the region itself, as well as with neighbouring and connected regions.{{Cite web |last=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime |date=2019 |title=Transnational Organized Crime in Southeast Asia: Evolution, Growth and Impact 2019 |url=https://www.unodc.org/roseap/uploads/documents/Publications/2019/SEA_TOCTA_2019_web.pdf |access-date=29 May 2025}} As the region's illicit economies expanded and evolved, including the growth of the synthetic drug industry, casinos and economic zones in the region’s border areas became important hubs for money laundering. Sites such as the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Laos have been identified as hotspots for money laundering and various other types of transnational crime.{{Cite web |last=Douglas |first=Jeremy |date=2020-08-20 |title=Opinion: Laos is a missing link in Asia’s fight against organized crime |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/19/asia/laos-organized-crime-intl-hnk |access-date=2025-05-29 |website=CNN |language=en}}

Other high risk sectors for money laundering include commercial banks, securities companies, currency exchange shops, money transfer service providers, insurance companies, real estate agencies, and the trade in valuable materials such as art, antiquities and wildlife products.{{Cite web |last=Douglas |first=Jeremy |date=2019-02-14 |title=Asian organized crime doubles down on casinos |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/13/opinions/casinos-southeast-asia-intl |access-date=2025-05-29 |website=CNN |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Douglas |first=Jeremy |date=2019-10-24 |title=The man accused of running Asia’s biggest drug trafficking syndicate has been revealed. Here’s what needs to happen next |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/23/opinions/tse-chi-lop-revealed-opinion-intl-hnk |access-date=2025-05-29 |website=CNN |language=en}} As these industries have grown, the presence and sophistication of money laundering operations has too, creating a backdoor for organized crime to launder illicit funds into the global financial system.{{Cite web |last=Douglas |first=Jeremy |date=2019-02-14 |title=Asian organized crime doubles down on casinos |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/13/opinions/casinos-southeast-asia-intl |access-date=2025-05-29 |website=CNN |language=en}}

Casino junkets operating from Macao emerged as a major facilitator of money laundering, as has the more recently established online gambling industry.{{Cite web |last=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime |date=October 2024 |title=Transnational Organized Crime and the Convergence of Cyber-Enabled Fraud, Underground Banking and Technological Innovation in Southeast Asia: A Shifting Threat Landscape |url=https://www.unodc.org/roseap/uploads/documents/Publications/2024/TOC_Convergence_Report_2024.pdf |access-date=29 May 2025}} The rise of the cyber-enabled fraud industry across Southeast Asia, especially in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, and the Philippines, has given rise to new platforms providing guarantees and facilitating the laundering of funds through app-based channels.{{Cite web |last=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime |date=April 2025 |title=Inflection Point: Global Implications of Scam Centres, Underground Banking and Illicit Online Marketplaces in Southeast Asia |url=https://www.unodc.org/roseap/uploads/documents/Publications/2025/Inflection_Point_2025.pdf |access-date=29 May 2025}} One such case is that of Huione, a Cambodia-based operation that blockchain analysis firms have identified as one of the leading actors in this space. Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic described Huione as the "largest illicit online marketplace to have ever operated".{{Cite web |last=Research |first=Elliptic |title=Huione: the company behind the largest ever illicit online marketplace has launched a stablecoin |url=https://www.elliptic.co/blog/huione-largest-ever-illicit-online-marketplace-stablecoin |access-date=2025-05-29 |website=www.elliptic.co |language=en}} Global law enforcement has begun to respond to the threats posed by such platforms, and in May 2025 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a finding and notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) pursuant to Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act that identified Huione Group as a financial institution of primary money laundering concern, seeking to sever its access to the U.S. financial system.{{Cite web |last=U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network |date=1 May 2025 |title=FinCEN Finds Cambodia-Based Huione Group to be of Primary Money Laundering Concern, Proposes a Rule to Combat Cyber Scams and Heists |url=https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-finds-cambodia-based-huione-group-be-primary-money-laundering-concern |access-date=29 May 2025 |website=Financial Crimes Enforcement Network}}

Money laundering is the conversion or transfer of property; the concealment or disguising of the nature of the proceeds; the acquisition, possession or use of property, knowing that these are derived from criminal acts; the participating in or assisting the movement of funds to make the proceeds appear legitimate.

Money obtained from certain crimes, such as extortion, insider trading, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and illegal gambling is "dirty" and needs to be "cleaned" to appear to have been derived from legal activities, so that banks and other financial institutions will deal with it without suspicion. Money can be laundered by many methods that vary in complexity and sophistication.

Money laundering typically involves three steps: The first involves introducing cash into the financial system by some means ("placement"); the second involves carrying out complex financial transactions to camouflage the illegal source of the cash ("layering"); and finally, acquiring wealth generated from the transactions of the illicit funds ("integration"). Some of these steps may be omitted, depending on the circumstances. For example, non-cash proceeds that are already in the financial system would not need to be placed.{{Cite book |last=Reuter |first=Peter |url=https://archive.org/details/chasing_reu_2004_00_6674 |title=Chasing Dirty Money |publisher=Peterson |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-88132-370-2 |url-access=registration}}

According to the United States Treasury Department:

{{Blockquote|sign=|source=|Money laundering is the process of making illegally-gained proceeds (i.e., "dirty money") appear legal (i.e., "clean"). Typically, it involves three steps: placement, layering, and integration. First, the illegitimate funds are furtively introduced into the legitimate financial system. Then, the money is moved around to create confusion, sometimes by wiring or transferring through numerous accounts. Finally, it is integrated into the financial system through additional transactions until the "dirty money" appears "clean".{{Cite web |date=30 June 2015 |title=History of Anti-Money Laundering Laws |url=https://www.fincen.gov/history-anti-money-laundering-laws |access-date=30 June 2015 |publisher=United States Department of the Treasury |archive-date=8 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161208052823/https://www.fincen.gov/history-anti-money-laundering-laws |url-status=live }}}}

Money laundering can take several forms, although most methodologies can be categorized into one of a few types. These include "bank methods, smurfing [also known as structuring], currency exchanges, and double-invoicing".Lawrence M. Salinger, Encyclopedia of white-collar & corporate crime: A – I, Volume 1, page 78, {{ISBN|0-7619-3004-3}}, 2005.

• Structuring: Often known as smurfing, is a method of placement whereby cash is broken into smaller deposits of money, used to defeat suspicion of money laundering and to avoid anti-money laundering reporting requirements. A sub-component of this is to use smaller amounts of cash to purchase bearer instruments, such as money orders, and then ultimately deposit those, again in small amounts.{{Cite web |last=National Drug Intelligence Center |date=August 2011 |title=National Drug Threat Assessment |url=https://www.justice.gov/ndic/pubs44/44849/44849p.pdf |access-date=20 September 2011 |page=40 |archive-date=6 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006190738/http://www.justice.gov/ndic/pubs44/44849/44849p.pdf |url-status=live }}
• Bulk cash smuggling: This involves physically smuggling cash to another jurisdiction and depositing it in a financial institution, such as an offshore bank, that offers greater bank secrecy or less rigorous money laundering enforcement.{{Cite web |date=December 2005 |title=National Money Laundering Threat Assessment |url=https://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/011106.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101017094839/http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/011106.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2010 |access-date=3 March 2011 |page=33 |df=dmy-all}}
• Cash-intensive businesses: In this method, a business is typically expected to receive a large proportion of its revenue as cash uses its accounts to deposit criminally derived cash. This method of money laundering often causes organized crime and corporate crime to overlap.{{Cite web |title=Organized Crime Module 1 Key Issues: Similarities & Differences |url=https://www.unodc.org/e4j/en/organized-crime/module-1/key-issues/similarities-and-differences.html |access-date=18 December 2022 |website=www.unodc.org |archive-date=4 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104032823/https://www.unodc.org/e4j/en/organized-crime/module-1/key-issues/similarities-and-differences.html |url-status=live }} Such enterprises often operate openly and in doing so generate cash revenue from incidental legitimate business in addition to the illicit cash. In such cases, the business will usually claim all cash received as legitimate earnings. Service businesses are best suited to this method, as such enterprises have little or no variable costs and/or a large ratio between revenue and variable costs, which makes it difficult to detect discrepancies between revenues and costs. Examples are parking structures, strip clubs, tanning salons, car washes, arcades, bars, restaurants, casinos, barber shops, DVD stores, movie theaters, and beach resorts.
• Trade-based laundering: This method is one of the newest and most complex forms of money laundering.{{Cite journal |last=Naheem |first=Mohammed Ahmad |date=2015-10-05 |title=Trade based money laundering: towards a working definition for the banking sector |journal=Journal of Money Laundering Control |language=en |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=513–524 |doi=10.1108/JMLC-01-2015-0002 |issn=1368-5201}} This involves under- or over-valuing invoices to disguise the movement of money.{{Cite book |last=Baker, Raymond |url=https://archive.org/details/capitalismsachil00raym |title=Capitalism's Achilles Heel |publisher=Wiley |year=2005 |isbn=9780471644880 |url-access=registration}} For example, the art market has been accused of being an ideal vehicle for money laundering due to several unique aspects of art such as the subjective value of artworks as well as the secrecy of auction houses about the identity of the buyer and seller.{{Cite news |last=Has the Art Market Become an Unwitting Partner in Crime? |date=19 February 2017 |title=Has the Art Market Become an Unwitting Partner in Crime? |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/19/arts/design/has-the-art-market-become-an-unwitting-partner-in-crime.html |access-date=5 May 2018 |archive-date=6 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180506035316/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/19/arts/design/has-the-art-market-become-an-unwitting-partner-in-crime.html |url-status=live }} According to the National Crime Agency, one strategy that is favored by high-net-worth individuals is specialist storage facilities. Art kept in these spaces has been used by individuals to evade sanctions and launder the proceeds of crime.{{cite web |title=UK warns of criminal sanctions evasion through artwork storage facilities |url=https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/uk-warns-of-criminal-sanctions-evasion-through-artwork-storage-facilities |website=National Crime Agency |access-date=14 July 2024}}
• Shell companies and trusts: Trusts and shell companies disguise the true owners of money. Trusts and corporate vehicles, depending on the jurisdiction, need not disclose their true owner. Sometimes referred to by the slang term rathole, though that term usually refers to a person acting as the fictitious owner rather than the business entity.{{Cite web |last=Financial Action Task Force |title=Global Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Threat Assessment |url=http://www.fatf-gafi.org/dataoecd/48/10/45724350.pdf |access-date=3 March 2011 |archive-date=26 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726050407/http://www.fatf-gafi.org/dataoecd/48/10/45724350.pdf |url-status=dead }}
• Round-tripping: Here, money is deposited in a controlled foreign corporation offshore, preferably in a tax haven where minimal records are kept, and then shipped back as a foreign direct investment, exempt from taxation. A variant of this is to transfer money to a law firm or similar organization as funds on account of fees, then to cancel the retainer and, when the money is remitted, represent the sums received from the lawyers as a legacy under a will or proceeds of litigation.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Bank capture: In this case, money launderers or criminals buy a controlling interest in a bank, preferably in a jurisdiction with weak money laundering controls, and then move money through the bank without scrutiny.
• Invoice Fraud: An example is when a criminal contacts a company saying that the supplier payment details have changed. They then provide alternative, fraudulent details in order for you to pay them money.{{Cite news |last=Burton |first=Tom |title=Fraudulent invoices the new trend in business scams |agency=Financial Review |url=https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/fraudulent-invoices-the-new-trend-in-business-scams-20200623-p555dn |access-date=28 October 2021 |archive-date=28 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028005704/https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/fraudulent-invoices-the-new-trend-in-business-scams-20200623-p555dn |url-status=live }}
• Casinos: In this method, an individual walks into a casino and buys chips with illicit cash. The individual will then play for a relatively short time. When the person cashes in the chips, they will expect to take payment in a check, or at least get a receipt so they can claim the proceeds as gambling winnings.
• Other gambling: Money is spent on gambling, preferably on high odds games. One way to minimize risk with this method is to bet on every possible outcome of some event that has many possible outcomes, so no outcome(s) have short odds, and the bettor will lose only the vigorish and will have one or more winning bets that can be shown as the source of money. The losing bets will remain hidden.
• Black salaries: A company may have unregistered employees without written contracts and pay them cash salaries. Dirty money might be used to pay them.{{Cite web |title=Underground Economy Issues. Ontario Construction Secretariat |url=http://www.iciconstruction.com/resources/industry_publications/underground_economy_issues.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216010105/http://www.iciconstruction.com/resources/industry_publications/underground_economy_issues.cfm |archive-date=16 December 2010 |df=dmy-all}}
• Tax amnesties: For example, those that legalize unreported assets and cash in tax havens.{{Cite web |title=Tax amnesties turn HMRC into 'biggest money-laundering operation in history' |url=http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ianmcowie/100011790/tax-amnesties-turn-hmrc-into-biggest-money-laundering-operation-in-history |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128103750/http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ianmcowie/100011790/tax-amnesties-turn-hmrc-into-biggest-money-laundering-operation-in-history/ |archive-date=28 November 2011 |access-date=14 June 2013}}
• Transaction Laundering: When a merchant unknowingly processes illicit credit card transactions for another business.{{Cite web |title=Merchant-based money laundering Part 3: The medium is the method - ACFCS {{!}} Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists {{!}} A BARBRI, Inc. Company |url=https://www.acfcs.org/news/364876/Merchant-based-money-laundering-Part-3-The-medium-is-the-method.htm |access-date=2019-01-08 |website=www.acfcs.org |archive-date=1 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401101454/https://www.acfcs.org/news/364876/Merchant-based-money-laundering-Part-3-The-medium-is-the-method.htm |url-status=dead }} It is a growing problem{{Cite web |title=The Growing Threat of Transaction Laundering {{!}} Legal Solutions |url=https://store.legal.thomsonreuters.com/law-products/solutions/clear-investigation-software/anti-money-laundering/the-growing-threat-of-transaction-laundering |access-date=2019-01-08 |website=store.legal.thomsonreuters.com |archive-date=8 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108201017/https://store.legal.thomsonreuters.com/law-products/solutions/clear-investigation-software/anti-money-laundering/the-growing-threat-of-transaction-laundering |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Transaction laundering in 2019 – time to review the monitoring strategy {{!}} The Paypers |url=https://www.thepaypers.com/expert-opinion/transaction-laundering-in-2019-time-to-review-the-monitoring-strategy/776727 |access-date=2019-01-09 |website=www.thepaypers.com |language=en |archive-date=14 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714025734/https://thepaypers.com/expert-opinion/transaction-laundering-in-2019-time-to-review-the-monitoring-strategy/776727 |url-status=live }} and recognised as distinct from traditional money laundering in using the payments ecosystem to hide that the transaction even occurred{{Cite web |date=2018-04-26 |title=Transaction Laundering: Growing Fraud Risk for Merchants |url=https://www.threatmetrix.com/digital-identity-blog/fraud-prevention/transaction-laundering-a-growing-fraud-risk-for-merchants/ |access-date=2019-01-08 |website=ThreatMetrix |language=en-US |archive-date=8 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108201111/https://www.threatmetrix.com/digital-identity-blog/fraud-prevention/transaction-laundering-a-growing-fraud-risk-for-merchants/ |url-status=live }} (e.g. the use of fake front websites{{Cite news |date=2017-06-22 |title=Exclusive: Fake online stores reveal gamblers' shadow banking system |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gambling-usa-dummies-exclusive-idUSKBN19D137 |access-date=2019-01-08 |archive-date=9 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109011840/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gambling-usa-dummies-exclusive-idUSKBN19D137 |url-status=live }}). Also known as "undisclosed aggregation" or "factoring".{{Cite web |title=G2 Transaction Laundering Detection |url=https://www.g2webservices.com/acquiring/g2-portfolio-protection/transaction-laundering/ |access-date=2019-01-08 |website=G2 Web Services |language=en-US |archive-date=8 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108201154/https://www.g2webservices.com/acquiring/g2-portfolio-protection/transaction-laundering/ |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |last=((raytodd2017)) |date=2018-09-17 |title=Transaction laundering and high-risk payment processors |url=https://raytodd.blog/2018/09/17/transaction-laundering-and-high-risk-payment-processors/ |access-date=2019-01-08 |website=raytodd.blog |language=en |archive-date=9 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109011803/https://raytodd.blog/2018/09/17/transaction-laundering-and-high-risk-payment-processors/ |url-status=dead }}
• Online job marketplaces such as Freelancer.com and Fiverr, which accept funds from clients and hold them in escrow to pay freelancers. A money launderer can post a token job on one of these sites, and send the money for the site to hold in escrow. The launderer (or his associate) can then sign on as a freelancer (using a different account and IP address), accept and complete the job, and be paid the funds.{{Cite magazine |last=Solon |first=Olivia |date=October 21, 2013 |url-access=subscription |title=Cybercriminals launder money using in-game currencies |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-10/21/money-laundering-online |magazine=Wired |access-date=22 October 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024160117/https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-10/21/money-laundering-online |archive-date= Oct 24, 2013 }}
• Through Sports: Investigation teams have identified sport profits as a common way to launder money. In Latin America, in particular, drug traffickers are frequently found to own Soccer Clubs, and to launder money through their intermediate, by buying and selling players, selling tickets and merchandise.{{Cite news |title=As a trafficker pursued dreams of soccer glory, investigators closed in |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2024/sebastian-marset-cocaine-investigation-soccer-football/ |last=Sieff |first=Kevin |date=2024-07-18 |quote='They buy a Colombian player from a very low-level soccer team and then take him to play in the Croatian Soccer League. But they sell him for 100 times or 200 times more than what he cost,' said a Colombian police official |author-link=Kevin Sieff}}

{{see also|Cryptocurrency and crime}}

In theory, electronic money should provide as easy a method of transferring value without revealing identity as untracked banknotes, especially wire transfers involving anonymity-protecting numbered bank accounts. In practice, however, the record-keeping capabilities of Internet service providers and other network resource maintainers tend to frustrate that intention. While some cryptocurrencies under recent development have aimed to provide more possibilities of transaction anonymity for various reasons, the degree to which they succeed — and, in consequence, the degree to which they offer benefits for money laundering efforts — is controversial. Solutions such as ZCash and Monero ― known as privacy coins{{Cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Charles |title=Understanding Cryptocurrency Fraud. The challenges and headwinds to regulate digital currencies |last2=Pearce |first2=Nick |last3=Shannon |first3=Nadine |date=2022 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-071688-7 |editor-last=Corbet |editor-first=Shaen |location=Boston/Berlin |pages=141 f |chapter=Criminality and cryptocurrencies: Enforcement and policy responses – Part II}} ― are examples of cryptocurrencies that provide unlinkable anonymity via proofs and/or obfuscation of information (ring signatures).Cf. {{Cite journal |last1=Kethineni |first1=Sesha |last2=Cao |first2=Ying |date=2020 |title=The Rise in Popularity of Cryptocurrency and Associated Criminal Activity |journal=International Criminal Justice Review |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=334 |doi=10.1177/1057567719827051|s2cid=150755683 }} While not suitable for large-scale crimes, privacy coins like Monero are suitable for laundering money made through small-scale crimes.{{Cite book |last=Hou |first=Greg |title=Understanding Cryptocurrency Fraud. The challenges and headwinds to regulate digital currencies |date=2022 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-071688-7 |editor-last=Corbet |editor-first=Shaen |location=Boston/Berlin |pages=88 |chapter=Cryptocurrency money laundering and exit scams: Cases, regulatory responses and issue}}

Apart from traditional cryptocurrencies, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are also commonly used in connection with money laundering activities.{{Cite report |url=https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/nfts-new-frontier-money-laundering |title=NFTs: A New Frontier for Money Laundering? |last1=Owen |first1=Allison |last2=Chase |first2=Isabella |date=2 December 2021 |publisher=Royal United Services Institute |access-date=12 January 2023 |archive-date=16 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116131322/https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/nfts-new-frontier-money-laundering/ |url-status=live }} NFTs are often used to perform Wash Trading by creating several different wallets for one individual, generating several fictitious sales and consequently selling the respective NFT to a third party.{{Cite report |url=https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Treasury_Study_WoA.pdf |title=Study of the Facilitation of Money Laundering and Terror Finance Through the Trade in Works of Art |publisher=United States Department of the Treasury |page=27 |access-date=12 January 2023 |year=2022 |archive-date=13 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413071205/https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Treasury_Study_WoA.pdf |url-status=live }} According to a report by Chainalysis, these types of wash trades are becoming increasingly popular among money launderers especially due to the largely anonymous nature of transactions on NFT marketplaces.{{Cite web |last=Quiroz-Gutierrez |first=Marco |date=4 February 2022 |title=A handful of NFT users are making big money off of a stealth scam. Here's how 'wash trading' works |url=https://fortune.com/2022/02/04/nft-wash-trade-scam-millions/ |access-date=12 January 2023 |website=Fortune |archive-date=15 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215090338/https://fortune.com/2022/02/04/nft-wash-trade-scam-millions/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2 February 2022 |title=Crime and NFTs: Chainalysis Detects Significant Wash Trading and Some NFT Money Laundering In this Emerging Asset Class |url=https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/2022-crypto-crime-report-preview-nft-wash-trading-money-laundering/ |access-date=12 January 2023 |publisher=Chainalysis |archive-date=6 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206010533/https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/2022-crypto-crime-report-preview-nft-wash-trading-money-laundering/ |url-status=live }} Auction platforms for NFT sales may face regulatory pressure to comply with anti-money laundering legislation.Cf. {{Cite report |url=https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Treasury_Study_WoA.pdf |title=Study of the Facilitation of Money Laundering and Terror Finance Through the Trade in Works of Art |publisher=United States Department of the Treasury |page=26 |access-date=12 January 2023 |year=2022 |archive-date=13 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413071205/https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Treasury_Study_WoA.pdf |url-status=live }}

Additionally, cryptocurrency mixers have been increasingly used by cybercriminals over the past decade to launder funds.{{Cite web |last=Team |first=Chainalysis |date=2022-07-14 |title=Mixer Usage Reaches All-time Highs in 2022 |url=https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/crypto-mixer-criminal-volume-2022/ |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=Chainalysis |language=en-US |archive-date=23 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423003145/https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/crypto-mixer-criminal-volume-2022/ |url-status=live }} A mixer blends the cryptocurrencies of many users together to obfuscate the origins and owners of funds, enabling a greater degree of privacy on public blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum.{{Cite web |last=Team |first=Chainalysis |date=2022-08-23 |title=Crypto Mixers and AML Compliance |url=https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/crypto-mixers/ |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=Chainalysis |language=en-US |archive-date=23 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423003143/https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/crypto-mixers/ |url-status=live }} Although not explicitly illegal in many jurisdictions, the legality of mixers is controversial.{{Cite news |last=Yaffe-Bellany |first=David |date=2022-09-08 |title=Investors Sue Treasury Department for Blacklisting Crypto Platform |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/08/business/tornado-cash-treasury-sued.html |access-date=2023-04-23 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=23 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423003142/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/08/business/tornado-cash-treasury-sued.html |url-status=live }} The use of the mixer Tornado Cash in the laundering of funds by the Lazarus Group led the Office of Foreign Assets Control to sanction it, prompting some users to sue the Treasury Department.{{Cite web |last=Yaffe-Bellany |first=David |date=8 September 2022 |title=Investors Sue Treasury Department for Blacklisting Crypto Platform |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/08/business/tornado-cash-treasury-sued.html |access-date=22 April 2023 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=23 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423003142/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/08/business/tornado-cash-treasury-sued.html |url-status=live }} Proponents have argued mixers allow users to protect their privacy and that the government lacks the authority to restrict access to decentralized software. In the United States, FinCEN requires mixers to register as money service businesses.{{Cite web |last=Network |first=Financial Crimes Enforcement |date=9 May 2019 |title=Application of FinCEN's Regulations to Certain Business Models Involving Convertible Virtual Currencies |url=https://www.fincen.gov/resources/statutes-regulations/guidance/application-fincens-regulations-certain-business-models |access-date=22 April 2023 |website=fincen.gov |archive-date=23 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423003145/https://www.fincen.gov/resources/statutes-regulations/guidance/application-fincens-regulations-certain-business-models |url-status=live }}

In 2013, Jean-Loup Richet, a research fellow at ESSEC ISIS, surveyed new techniques that cybercriminals were using in a report written for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.{{Cite arXiv |eprint=1310.2368 |class=cs.CY |author=Richet, Jean-Loup |title=Laundering Money Online: a review of cybercriminals methods |date=June 2013}} A common approach was to use a digital currency exchanger service which converted dollars into a digital currency called Liberty Reserve, and could be sent and received anonymously. The receiver could convert the Liberty Reserve currency back into cash for a small fee. In May 2013, the US authorities shut down Liberty Reserve, charging its founder and various others with money laundering.{{Cite magazine |last=Zetter, Kim |date=May 2013 |title=Liberty Reserve founder indicted on $6 billion money-laundering charges |url=https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/05/liberty-reserve-indicted/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=20 October 2013 |archive-date=26 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131026031250/http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/05/liberty-reserve-indicted |url-status=live }}

Another increasingly common way of laundering money is to use online gaming. In a growing number of online games, such as Second Life and World of Warcraft, it is possible to convert money into virtual goods, services, or virtual cash that can later be converted back into money.

To avoid the usage of decentralized digital money such as Bitcoin for the profit of crime and corruption, Australia is planning to strengthen the nation's anti-money laundering laws.{{Cite news |date=22 October 2017 |title=Bitcoin one step closer to being regulated in Australia under new anti-money laundering laws |work=ABC News |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-23/bitcoin-one-step-closer-to-being-regulated-in-australia/9058582 |access-date=18 Dec 2017 |archive-date=17 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171217183707/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-23/bitcoin-one-step-closer-to-being-regulated-in-australia/9058582 |url-status=live }} The characteristics of Bitcoin—it is completely deterministic, protocol-based and can be difficult to censor{{cite web |title=Why Is Bitcoin Censorship Resistant? |url=https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/why-is-bitcoin-censorship-resistant |website=Nasdaq |access-date=28 March 2025}}—make it possible to circumvent national laws using services like Tor to obfuscate transaction origins. Bitcoin relies completely on cryptography, not on a central entity running under a KYC framework. There are several cases in which criminals have cashed out a significant amount of Bitcoin after ransomware attacks, drug dealings, cyber fraud and gunrunning.{{Cite web |date=3 August 2017 |title=Hackers have cashed out on $143,000 of bitcoin from the massive WannaCry ransomware attack |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/03/hackers-have-cashed-out-on-143000-of-bitcoin-from-the-massive-wannacry-ransomware-attack.html |access-date=18 Dec 2017 |website=CNBC |archive-date=27 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127143206/https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/03/hackers-have-cashed-out-on-143000-of-bitcoin-from-the-massive-wannacry-ransomware-attack.html |url-status=live }} However, many digital currency exchanges are now operating KYC programs under threat of regulation from the jurisdictions they operate.{{Cite news |date=2015-04-23 |title=Bitcoin Island: cleaning up the crypto currency |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-32394170 |access-date=2021-02-17 |archive-date=9 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210409220802/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-32394170 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Bharathan |first=Vipin |title=Central Bankers And Crypto-Twitter Perennially In Opposition; Analysis Of Scale Of Crypto-Crime And The Prospect For Regulation |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/vipinbharathan/2021/01/22/central-bankers-and-crypto-twitter-perennially-in-opposition-analysis-of-scale-of-crypto-crime-and-the-prospect-for-regulation/ |access-date=2021-02-17 |website=Forbes |language=en |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225204819/https://www.forbes.com/sites/vipinbharathan/2021/01/22/central-bankers-and-crypto-twitter-perennially-in-opposition-analysis-of-scale-of-crypto-crime-and-the-prospect-for-regulation/ |url-status=live }}

{{see also|Hawala and crime}}

Reverse money laundering is a process that disguises a legitimate source of funds that are to be used for illegal purposes.{{Cite web |last=International Federation of Accountants |title=Anti-Money Laundering |url=http://www.ifac.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/anti-money-laundering-2n.pdf |access-date=27 March 2014 |archive-date=28 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328133527/http://www.ifac.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/anti-money-laundering-2n.pdf |url-status=dead }} It is usually perpetrated for the purpose of financing terrorism{{Cite journal |last=Cassella |first=S.D. |year=2003 |title=Reverse money laundering |journal=Journal of Money Laundering Control |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=92–94 |doi=10.1108/13685200410809814}} but can be also used by criminal organizations that have invested in legal businesses and would like to withdraw legitimate funds from official circulation. Unaccounted cash received via disguising financial transactions is not included in official financial reporting and could be used to evade taxes, hand in bribes and pay "under-the-table" salaries.{{Cite journal |last=Zabyelina |first=Yuliya |year=2015 |title=Reverse money laundering in Russia: Clean cash for dirty ends |journal=Journal of Money Laundering Control |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=202–221 |doi=10.1108/JMLC-10-2014-0039}} For example, in an affidavit filed on 24 March 2014 in United States District Court, Northern California, San Francisco Division, FBI special agent Emmanuel V. Pascua alleged that several people associated with the Chee Kung Tong organization, and California State Senator Leland Yee, engaged in reverse money laundering activities.

The problem of such fraudulent encashment practices (obnalichka in Russian) has become acute in Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union. The Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG) reported that the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Turkey, Serbia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia and Kazakhstan have encountered a substantial shrinkage of tax base and shifting money supply balance in favor of cash. These processes have complicated the planning and management of the economy and contributed to the growth of the shadow economy.EAG. "[http://eurasiangroup.org/WGTYP_2012_10_eng.pdf Money laundering and terrorist financing with use of physical cash and bearer instruments] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013064519/http://eurasiangroup.org/WGTYP_2012_10_eng.pdf |date=13 October 2017 }}", 17th Plenary Meeting of the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, 28 December 2012, New Delhi.

Many regulatory and governmental authorities issue estimates each year for the amount of money laundered, either worldwide or within their national economy. In 1996, a spokesperson for the IMF estimated that 2–5% of the worldwide global economy involved laundered money.{{Cite news |title=Money Laundering: the Importance of International Countermeasures--Address by Michel Camdessus |language=en |work=IMF |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp021098 |access-date=2018-03-02 |archive-date=23 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523200844/https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp021098 |url-status=live }} The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), an intergovernmental body set up to combat money laundering, stated, "Due to the illegal nature of the transactions, precise statistics are not available and it is therefore impossible to produce a definitive estimate of the amount of money that is globally laundered every year. The FATF therefore does not publish any figures in this regard."{{Cite web |last=Financial Action Task Force |title=Money Laundering - Financial Action Task Force |url=http://www.fatf-gafi.org/faq/moneylaundering/ |access-date=26 October 2018 |archive-date=23 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523201256/http://www.fatf-gafi.org/faq/moneylaundering/ |url-status=dead }} Academic commentators have likewise been unable to estimate the volume of money with any degree of assurance. Various estimates of the scale of global money laundering are sometimes repeated often enough to make some people regard them as factual—but no researcher has overcome the inherent difficulty of measuring an actively concealed practice.

Regardless of the difficulty in measurement, the amount of money laundered each year is in the billions of US dollars and poses a significant policy concern for governments. As a result, governments and international bodies have undertaken efforts to deter, prevent, and apprehend money launderers. Financial institutions have likewise undertaken efforts to prevent and detect transactions involving dirty money, both as a result of government requirements and to avoid the reputational risk involved. Issues relating to money laundering have existed as long as there have been large-scale criminal enterprises. Modern anti-money laundering laws have developed along with the modern War on Drugs.For example, under UK law the first offences created for money laundering both related to the proceeds from the sale of illegal narcotics under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and then later under the Drug Trafficking Act 1994. In more recent times anti-money laundering legislation is seen as an adjunct to the financial crime of terrorist financing in that both crimes usually involve the transmission of funds through the financial system (although money laundering relates to where the money has come from, and terrorist financing relating to where the money is going to). Finally, people, vessels, organisations and governments can be sanctioned due to international law-breaking, war (and of course tit-for-tat sanctions), and still want to move funds into markets where they are persona non grata.

Transaction laundering is a massive and growing problem.{{Cite news |date=2017-09-27 |title=Transaction laundering should be a top priority for regulators in 2018 |work=Financial Times |url=https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2017/09/27/2193969/transaction-laundering-should-be-a-top-priority-for-regulators-in-2018/ |access-date=2019-01-10 |archive-date=10 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190110183657/https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2017/09/27/2193969/transaction-laundering-should-be-a-top-priority-for-regulators-in-2018/ |url-status=live }} Finextra estimated that transaction laundering accounted for over $200 billion in the US in 2017 alone, with over $6 billion of these sales involving illicit goods or services, sold by nearly 335,000 unregistered merchants.{{Cite web |date=2017-07-17 |title=Online Payments-the Blind Spot in the AML Regime |url=https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/14298/online-payments-the-blind-spot-in-the-aml-regime |access-date=2019-01-10 |website=Finextra Research |language=en |archive-date=10 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190110184332/https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/14298/online-payments-the-blind-spot-in-the-aml-regime |url-status=live }} Money laundering can erode democracy.{{cite journal | last1=Demetriades | first1=Panicos | last2=Vassileva | first2=Radosveta | title=Money Laundering and Central Bank Governance in The European Union | journal=Journal of International Economic Law | volume=23 | issue=2 | date=17 August 2020 | issn=1369-3034 | doi=10.1093/jiel/jgaa011 | pages=509–533| url=https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/OUP_accepted_manuscript/12362066/2/files/22782617.pdf }}{{cite journal | last1=Walker | first1=Christopher | last2=Aten | first2=Melissa | title=The Rise of Kleptocracy: A Challenge For Democracy | journal=Journal of Democracy | volume=29 | issue=1 | date=2018 | issn=1086-3214 | doi=10.1353/jod.2018.0001 | pages=20–24}}

{{Cleanup list|section|date=October 2024}}

File:1998 Senate Investigation Contribution Money Laundering.pdf, Contribution Laundering/Third-Party Transfers. Includes investigation of Gandhi Memorial International Foundation.]]

• Bank of Credit and Commerce International: Unknown amount, estimated in billions, of criminal proceeds, including drug trafficking money, laundered during the mid-1980s.{{cite web |title=The Dictator-Run Bank That Tells the Story of America's Foreign Corruption |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/07/07/the-dictator-run-bank-that-tells-the-story-of-americas-foreign-corruption/ |website=Foreign Policy |access-date=29 October 2024}}
• Bank of New York: US$7 billion of Russian capital flight laundered through accounts controlled by bank executives, the late 1990s.{{Cite news |last=O'Brien |first=Timothy L. |date=9 November 2005 |title=Bank of New York Settles Money Laundering Case |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/09/business/09bank.html |access-date=3 March 2011 |archive-date=18 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240618214606/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/09/business/bank-settles-us-inquiry-into-money-laundering.html |url-status=live }}
• BNP Paribas, in June 2014, pleaded guilty to falsifying business records and conspiracy, having violated U.S. sanctions against Cuba, Iran, and Sudan. It agreed to pay an $8.9 billion fine, the largest ever for violating U.S. sanctions.{{Cite web |title=FBI — Bank Guilty of Violating U.S. Economic Sanctions |url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/july/bank-guilty-of-violating-u.s.-economic-sanctions/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715004002/http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/july/bank-guilty-of-violating-u.s.-economic-sanctions/ |archive-date=15 July 2014 |access-date=14 July 2014 |publisher=Fbi.gov}}
• BSI Bank, in May 2017, was shut down by the Monetary Authority of Singapore for serious breaches of anti-money laundering requirements, poor management oversight of the bank's operations, and gross misconduct of some of the bank's staff.{{Cite web |title=MAS directs BSI Bank to shut down in Singapore |url=http://www.mas.gov.sg/News-and-Publications/Media-Releases/2016/MAS-directs-BSI-Bank-to-shut-down-in-Singapore.aspx |access-date=2019-01-23 |website=www.mas.gov.sg |archive-date=29 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160729063230/http://www.mas.gov.sg/News-and-Publications/Media-Releases/2016/MAS-directs-BSI-Bank-to-shut-down-in-Singapore.aspx |url-status=live }}
• BTA Bank: $6 billion of bank funds embezzled or fraudulently loaned to shell companies and offshore holdings by the bank's former chairman and CEO Mukhtar Ablyazov.{{Cite web |title=[2014] EWHC 2788 (Comm) |url=http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Comm/2014/2788.html |website=BAILII |access-date=31 July 2018 |archive-date=9 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709164004/http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Comm/2014/2788.html |url-status=live }}
• Charter House Bank: Charter House Bank in Kenya was placed under statutory management in 2006 by the Central Bank of Kenya after it was discovered the bank was being used for money laundering activities by multiple accounts containing missing customer information. More than $1.5 billion had been laundered before the scam was uncovered.{{Cite web |last1=Bagnoli |first1=Lorenzo |last2=Bodrero |first2=Lorenzo |date=16 April 2015 |title=Charter House Bank: A Money Laundering Machine |url=https://correctiv.org/en/investigations/mafia-africa/articles/2015/04/16/charter-house-bank-money-laundering-machine/ |website=CORRECTIV |access-date=2 October 2017 |archive-date=17 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717144739/https://correctiv.org/en/investigations/mafia-africa/articles/2015/04/16/charter-house-bank-money-laundering-machine/ |url-status=live }}
• Danske Bank + Swedbank: $30 billion – $230 billion US dollars laundered through its Estonian branch.{{Cite web |title=Danske Bank reveals Estonian branch may have laundered $230 billion as CEO steps down - ACFCS {{!}} Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists {{!}} A BARBRI, Inc. Company |url=https://www.acfcs.org/news/419424/Danske-Bank-reveals-Estonian-branch-may-have-laundered-230-billion-as-CEO-steps-down.htm |access-date=2019-01-23 |website=www.acfcs.org |archive-date=23 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123223844/https://www.acfcs.org/news/419424/Danske-Bank-reveals-Estonian-branch-may-have-laundered-230-billion-as-CEO-steps-down.htm |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |last=PYMNTS |date=2018-10-23 |title=Danske Handled $1T Plus In X-Border Payments |url=https://www.pymnts.com/news/security-and-risk/2018/danske-cross-border-payments/ |access-date=2019-01-23 |website=PYMNTS.com |language=en-US |archive-date=23 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123230824/https://www.pymnts.com/news/security-and-risk/2018/danske-cross-border-payments/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2018-10-15 |title=Danske Bank, Estonia – a technical review of the latest leak of data |url=https://grahambarrow.com/danske-bank-estonia-a-technical-review-of-the-latest-leak-of-data/ |access-date=2019-02-12 |website=GrahamBarrow.com |language=en |archive-date=13 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213005544/https://grahambarrow.com/danske-bank-estonia-a-technical-review-of-the-latest-leak-of-data/ |url-status=usurped }} This was revealed on 19 September 2018.{{Cite web |title=Investigations into Danske Bank's Estonian branch {{!}} Danske Bank |url=https://danskebank.com/about-us/corporate-governance/investigations-on-money-laundering |access-date=2019-02-08 |website=danskebank.com |language=en |archive-date=11 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711134712/https://danskebank.com/about-us/corporate-governance/investigations-on-money-laundering |url-status=live }} Investigations by Denmark, Estonia, the U.K. and the U.S. were joined by France in February 2019. On 19 February 2019, Danske Bank announced that it would cease operating in Russia and the Baltic States.{{Cite news |last1=Rubenfeld |first1=Samuel |last2=Chopping |first2=Dominic |date=2019-02-19 |title=Danske Bank to Shut Estonia Branch |language=en-US |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/danske-bank-to-shut-estonia-branch-11550595242 |access-date=2019-02-20 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=20 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220073656/https://www.wsj.com/articles/danske-bank-to-shut-estonia-branch-11550595242 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=2019-02-19 |title=Danske Bank pulls out of Russia, Baltics after money-laundering backlash |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-danske-bank-eu-regulator-idUSKCN1Q813R |access-date=2019-02-20 |archive-date=20 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220200004/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-danske-bank-eu-regulator-idUSKCN1Q813R |url-status=live }} This statement came shortly after Estonia's banking regulator Finantsinspektsioon{{Cite web |title=Finantsinspektsioon {{!}} Avaleht |url=https://www.fi.ee/et |access-date=2019-02-20 |website=www.fi.ee |language=et |archive-date=20 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220092629/https://www.fi.ee/et |url-status=live }} announced that they would close the Estonian branch of Danske Bank.{{Cite web |date=2019-02-19 |title=Estonia shuts Danske Bank branch at heart of money laundering saga |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/19/estonia-shuts-danske-bank-branch-at-heart-of-money-laundering-saga.html |access-date=2019-02-20 |website=CNBC |agency=Reuters |archive-date=20 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220160415/https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/19/estonia-shuts-danske-bank-branch-at-heart-of-money-laundering-saga.html |url-status=live }} The investigation has grown to include Swedbank, which may have laundered $4.3 billion.{{Cite news |date=20 February 2019 |title=Swedbank May Have Handled More Than $4.3 Billion in Dirty Money |work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-20/swedbank-reportedly-behind-4-3-billion-in-suspicious-transfers |access-date=2019-02-20 |archive-date=20 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220190022/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-20/swedbank-reportedly-behind-4-3-billion-in-suspicious-transfers |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=2019-02-20 |title=Estonia investigates alleged Swedbank link to money laundering scandal |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-danske-bank-moneylaundering-swedbank-idUSKCN1Q90RW |access-date=2019-02-20 |archive-date=20 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220154744/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-danske-bank-moneylaundering-swedbank-idUSKCN1Q90RW |url-status=live }} More at Danske Bank money laundering scandal.
• Deutsche Bank was accused in a vast money laundering scheme, dubbed the Global Laundromat, involving secret Russian accounts that were transferred from European Union banks in Estonia, Latvia and Cyprus between 2010 and 2014. Newspaper sources estimated the total value of laundered currency to be as high as $80bn. The bank is also under investigation for its involvement in Europe's biggest banking scandal through Denmark's Danske Bank, which laundered €200bn, also from Russian sources.[https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/apr/17/deutsche-bank-faces-action-over-20bn-russian-money-laundering-scheme Deutsche Bank faces action over $20bn Russian money-laundering scheme] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240618214717/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/apr/17/deutsche-bank-faces-action-over-20bn-russian-money-laundering-scheme |date=18 June 2024 }}. The Guardian. Retrieved 2 August 2019
• United Arab Emirates' Dubai Islamic Bank was accused of "knowingly and purposefully" providing "financial services and other forms of material support to al-Qaeda operatives" when the terrorist group was planning the execution of the 11 September attacks against the United States.{{Cite news |last1=Malnick |first1=Edward |last2=Heighton |first2=Luke |date=21 June 2017 |title=UAE warned US it could end intelligence cooperation over 9/11 victims claims |work=The Telegraph |publisher=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/21/uae-warned-us-could-end-intelligence-cooperation-911-victims/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=21 June 2017 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/21/uae-warned-us-could-end-intelligence-cooperation-911-victims/ |archive-date=11 January 2022}}{{cbignore}} In addition, the Sharjah branch of Standard Chartered Bank was also involved in opening the accounts of the terror operatives and allowing financial transactions to take place between them and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, "the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks".{{Cite news |date=18 May 2021 |title=The Guantanamo Docket |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/10024-khalid-shaikh-mohammed |access-date=25 July 2019 |archive-date=30 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730015411/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/10024-khalid-shaikh-mohammed |url-status=live }}
• FinCEN Files: On 21 September 2020, The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) revealed FinCEN Files, about the involvement of about $2tn of transactions by some of the world's biggest banks.{{Cite web |date=21 September 2020 |title=Inside scandal-rocked Danske Estonia and the shell-company 'factories' that served it |url=https://www.icij.org/investigations/fincen-files/inside-scandal-rocked-danske-estonia-and-the-shell-company-factories-that-served-it/ |access-date=21 September 2020 |website=International Consortium of Investigative Journalists |archive-date=22 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922164033/https://www.icij.org/investigations/fincen-files/inside-scandal-rocked-danske-estonia-and-the-shell-company-factories-that-served-it/ |url-status=live }} FinCEN files also revealed that Dubai-based Gunes General Trading, based in Dubai funneled Iranian state money via UAE's central banking system and processed $142 million in 2011 and 2012.{{Cite news |date=20 September 2020 |title=FinCEN Files: UAE central bank failed to prevent Iran sanctions evasion |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-54176127 |access-date=21 September 2020 |archive-date=24 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324132617/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-54176127 |url-status=live }}
• Fortnite: In 2018, Cybersecurity firm Sixgill{{Cite web |last=Evdokimova |first=Tamara |date=24 January 2019 |title=Criminals Are Using Fortnite to Launder Money |url=https://slate.com/technology/2019/01/fortnite-video-games-money-laundering-scams.html |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=Slate |archive-date=4 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804203002/https://slate.com/technology/2019/01/fortnite-video-games-money-laundering-scams.html |url-status=live }} discovered that stolen credit card details may be used to purchase Fortnite's in-game currency (V-Bucks) and in-game purchases, for the account to then be sold online for "clean" money.{{Cite web |last=Cuthbertson |first=Anthony |date=2019-01-13 |title=How children playing Fortnite are helping to fuel organised crime |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/fortnite-v-bucks-discount-price-money-dark-web-money-laundering-crime-a8717941.html |access-date=2019-01-21 |website=The Independent |language=en |archive-date=14 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114213715/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/fortnite-v-bucks-discount-price-money-dark-web-money-laundering-crime-a8717941.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last= |date=2019-02-08 |title=Red Envelopes, Fortnite, Micro Money Laundering |url=https://www.pymnts.com/fraud-attack/2019/red-envelopes-fortnite-money-laundering-criminal/ |access-date=2019-02-08 |website=PYMNTS.com |language=en-US |archive-date=1 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401001143/https://www.pymnts.com/fraud-attack/2019/red-envelopes-fortnite-money-laundering-criminal/ |url-status=live }} Epic Games, the makers of Fortnite, responded by urging customers to secure their accounts.{{Cite web |last=Shanley |first=Patrick |date=16 January 2019 |title=Epic Games Responds to 'Fortnite' Money Laundering Accusations |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/epic-games-responds-fortnite-money-laundering-accusations-1176602 |access-date=2019-01-21 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en |archive-date=17 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190117021026/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/epic-games-responds-fortnite-money-laundering-accusations-1176602 |url-status=live }}
• HSBC, in December 2012, paid a record $1.9 Billion fine for money-laundering hundreds of millions of dollars for drug traffickers, terrorists and sanctioned governments such as Iran.{{Cite news |date=11 December 2012 |title=HSBC to Pay Record Fine to Settle Money-Laundering Charges |work=The New York Times |url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/hsbc-to-pay-record-fine-to-settle-money-laundering-charges/ |access-date=24 January 2013 |archive-date=15 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115002041/http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/hsbc-to-pay-record-fine-to-settle-money-laundering-charges/ |url-status=live }} The money-laundering occurred throughout the 2000s.
• Institute for the Works of Religion: Italian authorities investigated suspected money laundering transactions amounting to US$218 million made by the IOR to several Italian banks.{{Cite news |last=Josephine McKenna |date=7 December 2009 |title=Vatican Bank reported to be facing money-laundering investigation |work=The Times |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6946507.ece |access-date=12 June 2010 |archive-date=10 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210224708/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/ |url-status=dead }}
• Liberty Reserve, in May 2013, was seized by United States federal authorities for laundering $6 billion.{{Cite news |date=2013-05-29 |title=U.S. accuses currency exchange of laundering $6 billion |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/net-us-cybercrime-libertyreserve-charges-idUSBRE94R0KQ20130529 |access-date=2019-01-23 |archive-date=23 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123223452/https://www.reuters.com/article/net-us-cybercrime-libertyreserve-charges-idUSBRE94R0KQ20130529 |url-status=live }}{{Cite magazine |last=Zetter |first=Kim |date=2013-05-28 |title=Liberty Reserve Founder Indicted on $6 Billion Money-Laundering Charges |url=https://www.wired.com/2013/05/liberty-reserve-indicted/ |magazine=Wired |issn=1059-1028 |access-date=2019-01-23 |archive-date=23 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523202310/https://www.wired.com/2013/05/liberty-reserve-indicted/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2015-03-25 |title=Secret Service busts $6 billion money laundering scheme |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/secret-service-busts-6-billion-money-laundering-scheme |access-date=2019-01-23 |website=Fox News |language=en-US |archive-date=23 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123223449/https://www.foxnews.com/world/secret-service-busts-6-billion-money-laundering-scheme |url-status=live }}
• Nauru: US$70 billion of Russian capital flight was laundered through unregulated Nauru offshore shell banks, the late 1990s{{Cite news |last=Hitt |first=Jack |date=10 December 2000 |title=The Billion Dollar Shack |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/10/magazine/the-billion-dollar-shack.html |access-date=3 March 2011 |archive-date=18 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111118011327/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/10/magazine/the-billion-dollar-shack.html |url-status=live }}
• Sani Abacha: US$2–5 billion of government assets laundered through banks in the UK, Luxembourg, Jersey (Channel Islands), and Switzerland, by the president of Nigeria.{{Cite web |title=Sani Abacha |url=http://www.assetrecovery.org/kc/node/52f770df-a33e-11dc-bf1b-335d0754ba85.0;jsessionid=741FC522C872AFE4D5D201D4EEBB472F |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130502221120/http://www.assetrecovery.org/kc/node/52f770df-a33e-11dc-bf1b-335d0754ba85.0;jsessionid=741FC522C872AFE4D5D201D4EEBB472F |archive-date=2 May 2013 |access-date=3 March 2011 |publisher=Asset Recovery Knowledge Center}}
• Standard Bank: Standard Bank South Africa London Branch – The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Standard Bank PLC (Standard Bank) £7,640,400 for failings relating to its anti-money laundering (AML) policies and procedures over corporate and private bank customers connected to politically exposed persons (PEPs).{{Cite web |date=2014-01-23 |title=Standard Bank PLC fined £7.6m for failures in its anti-money laundering controls |url=https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/standard-bank-plc-fined-%C2%A376m-failures-its-anti-money-laundering-controls |access-date=2019-01-23 |website=FCA |language=en |archive-date=23 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123223406/https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/standard-bank-plc-fined-%C2%A376m-failures-its-anti-money-laundering-controls |url-status=live }}
• Standard Chartered: paid $330 million in fines for money-laundering hundreds of billions of dollars for Iran. The money-laundering took place in the 2000s and occurred for "nearly a decade to hide 60,000 transactions worth $250 billion".{{Cite news |date=6 December 2012 |title=Standard Chartered to Pay $330 Million to Settle Iran Money Transfer Claims |work=The New York Times |url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/standard-chartered-to-pay-u-s-330-million-to-settle-iran-laundering-claims/ |access-date=24 January 2013 |archive-date=15 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115174202/http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/standard-chartered-to-pay-u-s-330-million-to-settle-iran-laundering-claims/ |url-status=live }}
• Westpac: On 24 September 2020, Westpac and AUSTRAC agreed to an AUD $1.3 billion penalty over Westpac's breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 - the largest fine ever issued in Australian corporate history.{{Cite web |date=2020-09-24 |title=AUSTRAC and Westpac agree to proposed $1.3bn penalty |url=https://www.austrac.gov.au/news-and-media/media-release/austrac-and-westpac-agree-penalty |access-date=2020-12-31 |website=AUSTRAC |language=en |archive-date=27 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127113712/https://www.austrac.gov.au/news-and-media/media-release/austrac-and-westpac-agree-penalty |url-status=live }}

• Jose Franklin Jurado-Rodriguez, a Harvard College and Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Economics Department alumnus, was convicted in Luxembourg in June 1990 "in what was one of the largest drug money laundering cases ever brought in Europe"{{Cite news |last=McGee, Jim |date=18 June 1995 |title=FROM RESPECTED ATTORNEY TO SUSPECTED RACKETEER: A LAWYER'S JOURNEY |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/06/18/from-respected-attorney-to-suspected-racketeer-a-lawyers-journey/d60f376a-b7eb-4f48-8acb-8e5daf99fa4f/ |access-date=11 September 2017 |archive-date=15 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915113825/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/06/18/from-respected-attorney-to-suspected-racketeer-a-lawyers-journey/d60f376a-b7eb-4f48-8acb-8e5daf99fa4f/ |url-status=live }} and the US in 1996 of money laundering for the Cali Cartel kingpin Jose Santacruz Londono.{{Cite news |last=RASHBAUM, William K. |date=12 April 1996 |title=HE ADMITS LAUNDERING DRUG CASH |work=New York Daily News |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/amp/archives/news/admits-laundering-drug-cash-article-1.716159 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403185125/http://www.nydailynews.com/amp/archives/news/admits-laundering-drug-cash-article-1.716159 |archive-date=3 April 2019}} Jurado-Rodriguez specialized in "smurfing".{{Cite book |last=Kochan, Nick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H-AoDwAAQBAJ&q=franklin+jurado+mba&pg=PT130 |title=The Washing Machine |date=2011 |publisher=Gerald Duckworth & Company |isbn=9780715642030 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• Ng Lap Seng: The Chinese billionaire real estate developer from Macau was sentenced to four years in prison{{Cite news |last=Chan |first=Sewell |date=11 May 2018 |title=Macau Tycoon Gets 4 Years in Prison for Bribing U.N. Diplomats |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/11/world/asia/macau-ng-un-bribery.html |access-date=5 May 2020 |archive-date=11 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511173411/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/11/world/asia/macau-ng-un-bribery.html |url-status=live }} in May 2018 for bribing two diplomats, including the former president of the United Nations General Assembly, John William Ashe, to help him build a conference center in Macau for the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), headed by Director Yiping Zhou. The corruption case was the worst financial scandal for the United Nations since the abuse of the Iraqi oil-for-food program more than 20 years ago. Ng Lap Seng, 69, was convicted in Federal District Court in Manhattan on two counts of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, one count of paying bribes, one count of money laundering, and two counts of conspiracy.
• Ferdinand Marcos: Unknown amount, estimated at US$10 billion of government assets laundered through banks and financial institutions in the United States, Liechtenstein, Austria, Panama, Netherlands Antilles, Cayman Islands, Vanuatu, Hong Kong, Singapore, Monaco, the Bahamas, the Vatican and Switzerland.{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=13 January 1991 |title=Commercial Property: The Bernstein Brothers; A Tangled Tale of Americas Towers and the Crown |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/13/realestate/commercial-property-bernstein-brothers-tangled-tale-americas-towers-crown.html |access-date=12 June 2010 |archive-date=14 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114134628/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/13/realestate/commercial-property-bernstein-brothers-tangled-tale-americas-towers-crown.html |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Anti-money laundering}}

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• United Kingdom: Implemented the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) to establish money laundering offenses and facilitate asset recovery.
• United States: Enacted the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) requiring companies to disclose their beneficial owners to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), effectively banning anonymous shell corporations and enhancing transparency in corporate ownership.
• Australia: Introduced the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act (AML/CTF Act) to regulate financial transactions and enhance transparency.
• Singapore: Established the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act to confiscate proceeds from serious crimes.
• Switzerland: Strengthened its anti-money laundering framework through the Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), which mandates due diligence and reporting requirements for financial institutions.

Below table shows the annual reported money laundering cases per 100,000 population for individual countries for the last available year according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Proportion of unreported money laundering and definition of money laundering might differ between countries.

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• Anti-Money Laundering Act (Switzerland)
• Anti–money laundering framework for financial institutions in France
• Azerbaijani laundromat
• Bank Secrecy Act
• Danske Bank money laundering scandal
• Financial Action Task Force
• Gold laundering
• Operation Greenback
• Sven Stumbauer

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• [http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/money-laundering/index.html UNODC on money-laundering and countering the financing of terrorism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520031705/http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/money-laundering/index.html |date=20 May 2011 }}: profile from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
• [https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialmarketintegrity Financial Market Integrity Unit] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211113202834/https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialmarketintegrity |date=13 November 2021 }} of the World Bank
• [https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/ International Narcotics Control Strategy Report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815202359/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/ |date=15 August 2019 }} (INCSR), annual report issued by the United States Department of State in March every year (prepared by Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs) on country money laundering risk

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Category:Commercial crimes

Category:Financial regulation

Category:Tax evasion

Category:Cover-ups

Category:Organized crime

Category:Funding of terrorism