Part 3/10:
The term "money laundering" itself harks back to the 1920s and 1930s, during the reign of mobster Al Capone in Chicago. To obscure his income generated from illegal activities, Capone allegedly invested in laundromats, which served as a perfect cover for funneling dirty money. This historical backdrop illustrates a common issue among criminals: the challenge of reconciling their ill-gotten gains within the legal financial system.
The Scale of Modern Money Laundering
The United Nations estimates that between $800 billion and $2 trillion are laundered annually, with an increasing trend towards cryptocurrencies. These digital assets tautologically inherit the traditional money laundering framework, which consists of three key stages: placement, layering, and integration.