What we have illustrated in this section is that the movements of a ‘proceed of crime’, therefore money laundering, can take many forms. This can simplified as follows:
- Handling or acquiring the proceeds of crimes such as tax evasion, theft and fraud. Being knowingly involved in any way with criminal or terrorist property
- Entering into arrangements to facilitate laundering criminal or terrorist property
- Concealing or disguising its nature, source, location, disposition, movement or ownership or any rights with respect to proceeds of crime. It can be the investing of the proceeds into other financial products or services or into the acquisition of property or assets.
Some examples as we have seen could be a cash deposit in a savings account, a life insurance policy, trusts, investments, and even that villa in Spain.
At each stage of the money laundering process, the proceeds are still criminal property. For example, Cash from dealing in drugs is a proceed of crime. It is used to buy a gold watch, the watch is now the proceed of crime. The watch is sold in exchange for a cheque; the cheque is now the proceeds of crime.
This demonstrates the money laundering process, moving proceeds through transactions to disguise its criminal origins. Each member of a firm must understand the risks to that firm from its activities