Money Laundering Essay -- Business Ethics

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, money laundering is the process by which one conceals the existence, illegal source, or illegal application of income and then disguises that income to make it appear legitimate. Money laundering involves a three step process which includes placement, layering and integration (Albrecht et al, 2009). Placement is the first step and it includes the launderer opening up an account at a bank or some other type of financial business to make deposits with the illegal money. The placement step is often looked at as the most risk taking step because the launderer does not know the reaction of the bank and how they are going to accept a large cash deposit. If the deposit is too large the bank can recognize it and this could be considered a red flag for the bank. The purpose of this step is to avoid the authorities and to remove the money as far away from the source as possible. The second step is called layering. This is where the launderer hides the money by opening up other accounts at other banks and makes transactions between these different accounts sometimes even in different countries. This makes it very hard to track the exact location of the money. The last step is the integration step. The money is finally used out into society and seems to be legal, legit money but it really came from an illegal crime. Theses launderers use the money to buy houses, cars and anything else that is expensive. Now these launderers have lots of money that they have obtained illegally (Albrecht et al, 2009). Money laundering is extremely important because it is not just a crime that was created overnight. This scheme took time and intelligence to be thought out. We are not dealing with dumb pe... ...money laundering? Crime school: money laundering: true crime meets the world of business and finance (pp.21-22). Buffalo, N.Y: Firefly Books. Perez, E., & Mollenkamp, C. (2010, March 18). Wachovia settles money-laundering case. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704059004575128062835484290.html Reuter, P. & Truman, E.M. (2004). The anti-money laundering regime. Chasing dirty money: the fight against money laundering (pp.46-48). Washington, D.C: Institute for International Economics. Statistical data – money laundering investigations. (2011). Retrieved March 20, 2011, from IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/compliance/enforcement/article/0,,id=113002,00.html Woods, B.F., (1998). The money laundering phenomenon. The art and science of money laundering (pp 1-4). Boulder, CO: Paladin Press. Money Laundering Essay -- Business Ethics According to the U.S. Department of Justice, money laundering is the process by which one conceals the existence, illegal source, or illegal application of income and then disguises that income to make it appear legitimate. Money laundering involves a three step process which includes placement, layering and integration (Albrecht et al, 2009). Placement is the first step and it includes the launderer opening up an account at a bank or some other type of financial business to make deposits with the illegal money. The placement step is often looked at as the most risk taking step because the launderer does not know the reaction of the bank and how they are going to accept a large cash deposit. If the deposit is too large the bank can recognize it and this could be considered a red flag for the bank. The purpose of this step is to avoid the authorities and to remove the money as far away from the source as possible. The second step is called layering. This is where the launderer hides the money by opening up other accounts at other banks and makes transactions between these different accounts sometimes even in different countries. This makes it very hard to track the exact location of the money. The last step is the integration step. The money is finally used out into society and seems to be legal, legit money but it really came from an illegal crime. Theses launderers use the money to buy houses, cars and anything else that is expensive. Now these launderers have lots of money that they have obtained illegally (Albrecht et al, 2009). Money laundering is extremely important because it is not just a crime that was created overnight. This scheme took time and intelligence to be thought out. We are not dealing with dumb pe... ...money laundering? Crime school: money laundering: true crime meets the world of business and finance (pp.21-22). Buffalo, N.Y: Firefly Books. Perez, E., & Mollenkamp, C. (2010, March 18). Wachovia settles money-laundering case. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704059004575128062835484290.html Reuter, P. & Truman, E.M. (2004). The anti-money laundering regime. Chasing dirty money: the fight against money laundering (pp.46-48). Washington, D.C: Institute for International Economics. Statistical data – money laundering investigations. (2011). Retrieved March 20, 2011, from IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/compliance/enforcement/article/0,,id=113002,00.html Woods, B.F., (1998). The money laundering phenomenon. The art and science of money laundering (pp 1-4). Boulder, CO: Paladin Press.