Money laundering facts for kids

Money laundering is something some criminals do to the money they make from crime. When a criminal does money laundering, the criminal tries to make it hard for the police to find out where the criminal got the money.

One way criminals launder money is by using the money earned from illegal activities to buy things (like gold and silver, shares or casino chips, other legitimate business activities like food or liquor stores) and then selling those items to get the money back. If a criminal buys and sells things many times it is hard for the police to find out where the criminal got the money.

Some countries have laws to try to stop money laundering. These laws help the police to find out when criminals try to do money laundering. Under the laws in some countries, business people must:

• tell the Government when someone pays them a lot of money (for example $10,000) or when someone puts a lot of money in their bank
• tell the Government if they think someone is doing money laundering, and
• write down on paper, or on a computer, every time someone gives them a lot of money or they give someone a lot of money.

In 1989, some countries set up a group of people from different Governments to tell countries the best ways to stop money laundering. This organization is called the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering.