Criminals seek to use illicit money gained through illegal activities in the legitimate economy. The process of disguising the illegal origins of these funds is known as money laundering. At its core, money laundering is about breaking the connection between the money and the crime it came from. This can involve methods such as transferring funds between multiple accounts, issuing fake invoices, converting the money into cryptocurrency, or moving it to foreign accounts in countries with weaker anti-money laundering oversight.
Yes, money laundering is a criminal offense. Hiding the proceeds of one’s own illegal activities or those of others is punishable by law, even without direct involvement in the original crime that generated the money. This means a person can be convicted of money laundering without being convicted of the underlying offense. The law aims to prevent criminal funds from entering the legitimate economy and to help preserve the integrity of the financial system.