Money laundering has been addressed in the UN Vienna 1988 Convention Article 3.1 describing Money Laundering as:
“the conversion or transfer of property, knowing that such property is derived from any offense(s), for the purpose of concealing or disguising the illicit origin of the property or of assisting any person who is involved in such offense(s) to evade the legal consequences of his actions”.
Money laundering is a process which typically follows three stages to finally release laundered funds into the legal financial system.
3 Stages of Money Laundering
- Placement (i.e. moving the funds from direct association with the crime)
- Layering (i.e. disguising the trail to foil pursuit)
- Integration (i.e. making the money available to the criminal from what seem to be legitimate sources)