The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates the amount of money laundered globally in one year is 2 - 5% of global GDP, or $800 billion - $2 trillion in current US dollars. Due to the nature of money-laundering, it is however difficult to estimate the total amount of money that goes through the laundering cycle. Money Laundering is the criminal act of changing the identity of illegally obtained money so that it appears to have originated from a legitimate source. Money laundering tends to consist of three stages: Placement; Layering; and Integration.
Key learning objectives:
Define money laundering
Be able to explain how criminals launder money
Identify at which stage money laundering is easiest to detect