All You Wanted To Know About Close Bank Account Money Laundering
Close bank account money laundering refers to the conversion or "Laundering" of money, which is illegally obtained in a way to make it appear to originate from a legitimate source. Across the world, banks have become a major target of money laundering operations and financial crime. This is because they provide a variety of services and instruments that can be used to conceal the source of money.
Money laundering is being employed by launderers worldwide so that they can conceal criminal activity associated with it such as drug or arms trafficking, terrorism, and extortion. According to an estimate of the International Monetary Fund, the overall size of close bank account money laundering in the world must be somewhere between two and five percent of the world’s gross domestic products.
The three independent steps or stages in close bank account money laundering include placement, layering, and integration. The Placement refers to the physical disposal of bulk cash proceeds that are derived from illegal activities. Then the illicit proceeds are separated tat heir source by creating complex layers of financial transactions. This process is referred to as Layering. The main purpose of this layering process is to conceal the audit trail and provide anonymity.
The last step of close bank account money laundering is the re-injection of the laundered proceeds back into the economy. This is done in such a way that they should re-enter the financial system as normal business funds. The major objectives of close bank account money laundering are the placement, layering, and integration of such funds. Another objective is to conceal the true ownership of illegally obtained money.