Money laundering is as old as money itself – and yet the laws designed to prevent it are as ineffective as they ever have been.

Today’s anti-money laundering (AML) regulations were designed to eliminate profits from drug trafficking and combat tax evasion, terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction. However, the modern laws have done little to stop crime and have instead significantly increased the regulatory burden on legitimate businesses and consumers. As one banker at an AML conference quipped, ‘This does not stop money laundering; it just enables those in the know to charge more.’

Indeed, AML laws have laid the foundations for massive and sophisticated criminal enterprise support services that help criminals evade detection.

How to Launder Money: A guide for law enforcement, prosecutors and policymakers offers a peek behind the veil to see the bent levers of finance and how they are pulled. It also examines how many who have pulled them, including one of the authors, have ended up behind bars. While acknowledging the challenges faced by law enforcement in a borderless world, it also provides concrete recommendations on how to reduce the crime associated with money laundering.

The criminals already know how to launder money; this is, in part, their inside story. This book is for the rest of us, who want to know how the laws that are supposed to protect us from crime are in reality doing more damage than ever before.

 

*All George Cottrell’s proceeds from the book will be donated to charitable causes.*

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Reviews

“The authors explore the many ways money laundering has been undertaken, often with a touch of humour. Their explanation will expose nothing to the launderers. The book’s purpose is to inform the enforcers and enable them to do their jobs better – and to entertain us. The large number of techniques presented by the authors are impressive and their accounts of money laundering are fascinating.”

Warren Coats, president of Economic Consulting, former adviser to several central banks and former economist at the International Monetary Fund

“This witty, erudite romp through the history of money laundering takes the reader from ancient China to Al Capone to cryptocurrency. It’s a panorama of fraud, from the brilliant to the mind bogglingly stupid. Highly recommended for students of finance, banking, law and anyone who likes to marvel at human criminal ingenuity.”

Nina Burleigh, New York Times-bestselling author, award-winning investigative journalist and adjunct professor at NYU’s Arthur J. Carter Journalism Institute

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