Money Laundering

Money laundering is a type of crime where the origin of money is concealed through criminal actions. This type of crime is often associated with organized crime, drug trafficking and other high-cash-flow criminal enterprises. Anytime the criminal origins of money are concealed, that’s considered money laundering. Money laundering is a federal crime, and these charges can land you in hot water if convicted. If you’re facing money laundering charges, your first priority needs to be getting in touch with a criminal defense lawyer with proven white collar crime defense experience.

Concealing the Origin of Money

To launder money means to conceal its origins. If you don’t want anybody to know how you made your money, you will take certain steps to launder it. Concealing the origin of money is a federal offense, especially if the money was made through illicit or illegal activity. The type of activities that made the money can also increase the scope and severity of your case and charges. If you’re suspected of concealing or trying to conceal the origin of income through certain steps associated with money laundering, you could be facing serious felony charges. 

Cleaning Dirty Money

Money laundering is also known as cleaning “dirty money.” The money is called dirty because it has been obtained or made through criminal illegal means. The act of laundering or “cleaning” dirty money is done through three steps, which are called placement, layering and integration. These steps will make the money appear to have come from legitimate, legal, non-criminal sources. Once the money has been “cleaned,” the money laundering scheme has been completed and the money will appear to have come from legitimate sources. Listed below are the three elements of money laundering.

Three Elements of Money Laundering:

• Placement 
• Layering 
• Integration 

Placement

The first step and element in any money laundering scheme is placement. The act of placement occurs when money earned through illegitimate criminal activities is placed into a legitimate financial system. The legitimate financial system is usually a business that does some volume of cash transactions throughout the day. These could be restaurants, shops or just about any business that handles cash transactions. When the money has been put into the legitimate systems, the placement has occurred. 

Layering

The second step in the money laundering process is known as layering. Layering happens when a high volume of transactions are created. This makes layers of various legitimate-looking transactions. It makes the illegitimate source of the money much harder to track down. Money may be moved into a variety of different accounts or transferred through various different transactions. The key to the layering step is diversifying and increasing volume of transactions. Through these actions, it’s easier to make the money appear to have come from legitimate or anonymous sources.

Integration

Finally, integration is the last step in any money laundering scheme. When the dirty money is finally integrated into the legitimate financial system, it has been cleaned and laundered. Through the complex series of actions, transfers, diversifying techniques and transactions, it’s nearly impossible to tell where the money came from. When the money has been fully laundered, it’s nearly impossible to tell if it has come from legitimate or illegitimate sources. It looks like legitimate clean money.

Additional Charges Associated With Money Laundering

Depending upon the circumstances of your unique case, you could be facing additional charges. Where money laundering is concerned, there are usually additional criminal charges and activities. If money is being laundered, it is to conceal the criminal origins of how it was made. A variety of different crimes are commonly associated with money laundering. Illegal gambling enterprises, tax evasion and even drug trafficking can all be associated with money laundering. No matter how many charges you’re facing in addition to money laundering, it’s important to speak with a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible about your case.