What is money laundering?Money laundering occurs when funds from criminal activities are converted into "clean money" and cannot be traced back to 'to criminal activity. The goal is to conceal the criminal activity and the criminals involved. One of the main reasons people commit criminal acts is to make money. Money laundering allows criminals to profit from these illegal products without law enforcement noticing. Money laundering can be used for drug trafficking, terrorist financing or tax evasion. It is obvious that selling drugs is illegal. The pharmaceutical industry is known for generating quite large profits. Drug traffickers launder money to hide their illegal drug sales. The United States is always looking for ways to prevent terrorism. Terrorists launder money, so law enforcement cannot detect where their funding comes from. Some people may launder money to avoid taxes. They don't want to pay taxes on their income, so they hide this money by laundering it and therefore don't have to declare it. The Money Laundering Process Money laundering can sometimes involve several steps to conceal the source of these illegal funds. One of the steps is to invest the money. The goal is to deposit the funds into a bank account without attracting attention (Cliff and Desilets 2). It is likely that the deposits will be structured, i.e. several small deposits, possibly in several accounts with several banks. At this point, the money can be used to exchange goods or even converted into other currencies. Very often, cash or business assets are transferred out of the country in which the crime was committed (Cliff and Desilets 2). Layering is the second stage of the money laundering process. During this stage, funds are transferred several times to...... middle of paper ......te Collar CrimeCenter. (2013). Internet. February 27, 2014. “Money laundering.” Financial Action Task Force. Internet. February 25, 2014. “Consequences of money laundering.” Financial Intelligence Unit. Internet. March 10, 2014.Petras, James. “Money Laundering at US Banks – Huge by Every Measure.” » Rense.com. Web. March 13, 2014. “Statistical Data – Money Laundering and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).” IRS. (October 23, 2013).Web. February 15, 2014. “Examples of Money Laundering Investigations – Fiscal Year 2013.” IRS. (November 4, 2013).Web. March 5, 2014.Layton, Julia. “How Money Laundering Works.” How it works. Internet. March 11, 2014. “History of Anti-Money Laundering Laws.” » Financial Crime Fighting Network. Web March 12, 2014. “The IMF and the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism. » International Monetary Fund. (September 30, 2013). Web March 14 2014.