According to Hopton (2009), money laundering tends to distribute dirty money around the world avoiding national controls and therefore tainted money tends to to flock to countries where controls are less strict. Money laundering has a major impact on the businesses used to commit the crime. The integrity of the bank and its financial services is highly dependent on professionalism and ethical standards. A reputation for integrity is one of the most valuable assets of any financial business. People want to be able to trust the place of business where they conduct their personal business. If a company is manipulated through money laundering schemes, then it is used by criminals and becomes part of the criminal network. This could be very detrimental to the way other financial institutions perceive the company, as well as the customers who do business there. Many now view this company as unreliable, which will cause them to lose money and customers because no one will ever want to do business there again. Money laundering rewards corruption and crime, undermines the integrity of society, and undermines democracy and the rule of law (Hopton, 2009). Many anti-money laundering assessments have been implemented in an attempt to prevent the act of money laundering. One of the first ways was to implement legal acts that would force financial companies and banks to cooperate with crime by reporting things that have become suspicious. It was at this time that the law on banking secrecy was passed. This was to ensure that all managers and employees reported any type of activities that they considered abnormal. Are there prevention methods used to deter criminals from accessing money laundering in the middle of paper? School of Crime: Money Laundering: True Crime Meets Business and Finance (pp. 21-22). Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. Perez, E. and Mollenkamp, ​​​​C. (March 18, 2010). Wachovia settles money laundering case. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704059004575128062835484290.htmlReuter, P. and Truman, E.M. (2004). The anti-money laundering regime. In pursuit of dirty money: the fight against money laundering (pp.46-48). Washington, DC: 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.htmlWoods, BF, (1998). The phenomenon of money laundering. The art and science of money laundering (pp 1-4). Boulder, CO: Paladin Press.