White collar crimes: What makes money laundering illegal?

On Behalf of | Jan 16, 2019 | White Collar Crimes

For Florida residents to avoid being pulled into money laundering schemes, they need to understand its concept. Money laundering activities are white collar crimes that involve moving criminally derived funds through financial institutions or other businesses to hide their origins. The people involved then reclaim the money, which is now clean because it has been laundered. These acts are criminalized to stop people profiting from them.

Money launderers typically receive a percentage of the proceeds of crime or another form of benefit for facilitating the services to launder the money. Authorities say financial institutions launder billions of criminally derived dollars every year. However, financial institutions are not the only way through which criminals can make funds appear legitimate.

Money laundering is typically an extensive three-tier process that starts when the criminal places the “dirty” money into the financial system. The next step is known as layering, and it involves “washing” or laundering the money by moving it around to disguise its source and ownership. The final stage is integrating the clean property back into the economy, where it now appears legitimate.

Florida residents who are being investigated for being part of money laundering schemes might be wise to secure legal counsel even before an arrest takes place. To have a criminal defense attorney who has experience in dealing with white collar crimes in his or her corner can be invaluable for any defendant. Having someone to protect their legal rights and advocate for them can improve the chances of defendants to obtain the best possible outcome.

Archives