Money Laundering Consequence & Defense
Money laundering is a well know term. Every now and then you hear or read about money laundering. But, do you have a clear idea what money laundering is? This refers to a process of obtaining money illegally and then legalizing the amount. This is a complex process and is considered as a white collar crime.
Money laundering is a combination of three steps – placement, layering and lastly integration. The first step – placement is the process of acquiring the money and then placing it into a financial system. This can be done the means of any criminal activity, blackmailing, extortion, bribery, financial fraud and drug trafficking. After acquiring the money, the launderers place the amount in a bank account or some economical system, most of the time they get the money out of the country. The goal of the launderers is to create distance between the money and the source. This way they divert the attention of law enforcers from the money.
The next step of the money is layering. By adding layers the launderers conceal the money. They break the total amount into small portion and then move each portions into different bank accounts of different countries. They continue this movement for a time being. This is done to detach the money from the source of crime. There are so many wire transactions done each day and so little information is available that it is not easy to trace this money.
Finally, the integration step arrives. The launderers bring the money back to country, although not always, in way that it appears to be legally earned money.
This total process can put a big dent to the entire world economy. As the launderers are out there in search of new sources and location, this can be done in any part of the world. Mostly the countries with lesser security system for the money laundering fall victims of the offense.
Committing this offense can get anyone in big trouble. As this is a white collar crime and most of the people do not have any clear idea about the process, it is not uncommon to get wrongly accused of committing this offense. Remember that the minimum penalty for money laundering can be 5 years jail.
Therefore, in case you are accused of committing money laundering, do not waste time in trying to deny the matter. Hire an experienced Fort Lauderdale federal criminal attorney. Many think that hiring an attorney will make them look like a criminal. But in reality that’s not the case. You seek legal help to protect your right.
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