How and why dirty money is laundered

« Follow the money », it’s the advice given by the informer called “deepthroat” to the investigators of the Washington-post whorevealed the Watergate scandal.
Worthy advice when we know that criminals, in order to profit of the benefits of their activities use different techniques in hiding the origin of dirty money.
Themoney laundering in the world is evaluated to 1000 billions USD each year.
It represents the recycling of money issued from drugs trafficking (50% of the laundered money following the united nationoffice on drugs and crime), weapons trafficking, human trafficking ( prostitution, immigration, black job…), cars trafficking, but also from smuggling, corruption etc.
Laundering money is becoming ahuge process and a true problem to law enforcement because of the high level of the techniques used and by the involvement of much more specialists in it.
A few years ago, the criminals could havedeposits in every bank they wanted and no questions were asked about their origin.
In nowadays, the process is much more risky, at least in countries where exists anti money laundering law enforcement.Naturally, launderers are always seeking places known by their absence of control or countries without anti laundering law enforcement.
The general scheme of laundering money includes the samephases.
The dirty money follows a circuit from witch in the end, returns to the profit of the individuals or groups who generated it.
The circuit begins in countries close to the one witch hosts thecriminal activities (in few cases it’s the same country).
It’s the phase called the placement of money laundering.
The second phase is called layering. The money is injected in a country or a territoryknown as financial haven in order to loose every single trace of its illegal origin.
The ultimate phase before the “money comeback” is called the integration.
The money is injected in countries…