" 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐢𝐭, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐤; 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫." - 𝐀 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐛''
Money laundering is a sophisticated crime that allows criminals to enjoy the 'fruits' of their crimes, but they are always haunted by the fear of discovery and taking away their ill-gotten gains, which they achieved through:
'𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧' 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲
'𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐡" 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬
'𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫' 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞.
ML itself isn't violent, but it facilitates and enables violent crimes.
-It's a serious and complex crime with far-reaching consequences.
-Even though it is not a violent crime, it has a connection with underlying violent crimes like drug trafficking, human trafficking, and terrorism.
There are 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 for laundering money for criminals:
It's a lifeline to hide illegal profits and a driving force because it allows them to reinvest without raising suspicion.
Direct investment in dirty money is risky - law enforcement can easily track its source.
Laundering protects these funds against seizures.
ML also has negative effects across different sectors, which are:
𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬:
Unfair Competition, Distorted Prices, Reduced Investment, Tax Evasion
𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬:
Increased Corruption, Growth of organised crime, Social Inequality
𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬:
Undermining Democracy, Destabilisation, Erosion of Trust
Efforts to combat money laundering have significant policy implications across economic, social, and political domains, requiring coordinated action by governments, law enforcement, and the private sector.