Money Laundering

What is Money Laundering?

Money laundering fraud is a type of financial crime fraud, defined as ‘the concealment of the origins of illegally obtained money, typically by means of transfers involving foreign banks or legitimate businesses’.

Laundered money is ‘dirty’ money (money gained from criminal activity), disguised to look legal using various methods. The methods of breaching regulations or breaking money laundering law can be very simple or extremely complex. The Crown Prosecution Service categorises the complex methods in these three stages:

• Placement – the process of getting criminal money into the financial system.
• Layering – the process of moving money in the financial system through complex webs of transactions, often via offshore companies.
• Integration – the process by which criminal money ultimately becomes absorbed into the economy, such as through investment in real estate.

Money Laundering Fraud Law

Most ‘laundering’ law and processes are complicated in their structure. If you need help spotting the signs or don’t know how to report laundered money, please read our recent blog post.

It could be that you have inadvertently found yourself caught up in these stages of financial crime fraud. Whether your foray into money laundering fraud was intentional or not, an investigation into your personal and professional commitments can be damaging. You, your family, friends and employees can face penalties if there is a belief by the prosecutors that income had been coming from criminal activity. For this reason, you should seek legal advice from a money laundering barrister at the earliest opportunity if you suspect you are under investigation.

Our fraud lawyers are recognised experts in financial crime fraud. Get in touch to find out how a money laundering lawyer can help with your case.