dirty money
Laundering target wealth
Dirty money is money obtained through illegal or unethical means—drug trafficking, bribery, fraud, or other crimes.
The phrase implies the money carries moral contamination from its source.
Money laundering exists to make dirty money appear clean, disguising its criminal origins: They funneled the dirty money through shell companies.
The term also applies to funds from legal but morally questionable sources: campaign donations that amount to dirty money.
Corrupt payment for influence
- kickbackIllegal payment for services
- payoffCulminating benefit received
- graftIllicit political gain
- embezzlementFraudulent taking of entrusted assets
extortion · bribe · backhander · sweetener · palm-greasing · under-the-table · inducement · grease
Illegal covert transport
- cartelsCollusive business alliances
- mafiaCriminal organization using intimidation
- racketeeringConducting illegal business schemes
- black-marketIllicit trading network
counterfeit · trafficking · underworld · contraband · illicit · proceeds · syndicate · gangland
Impossible to follow back
- layeringForming successive strata
- placementPutting somewhere specific
- integrationCombining into a whole
- smurfingEvasive transaction splitting
structuring · cleaning · washing · legitimizing · funneling · concealment · paper-trail
bribery
Corrupt payment for influence
embezzlement · extortion · bribe · backhander · sweetener · palm-greasing · under-the-table · inducement · grease · sop
smuggling
Illegal covert transport
- cartelsCollusive business alliances
- mafiaCriminal organization using intimidation
- racketeeringConducting illegal business schemes
black-market · counterfeit · trafficking · underworld · contraband · illicit · proceeds · syndicate · gangland · vice
untraceable
Impossible to follow back
- layeringForming successive strata
- placementPutting somewhere specific
- integrationCombining into a whole
smurfing · structuring · cleaning · washing · legitimizing · funneling · concealment · paper-trail
- dirty moneyill-gotten gains, illicit funds, illicit gains, proceeds of crime, filthy lucre
- corruptioncorruption, graft, kickbacks, bribery, bribes
- criminal schemesconspiracy, collusion, racketeering, kickback scheme, assassination plot
- payoffsbribe, kickback, payoff, payola, baksheesh
- LaunderingAML, placement, concealment, smurfing, structuring
- Traffickingdrug trafficking, trafficking, trafficker, drug smuggling, smuggling