front businesses
Laundering operation covers
Front businesses are enterprises that appear legitimate but exist primarily to conceal illegal activity or launder money.
A restaurant that never has customers but stays open for years, a cash-heavy laundromat with suspiciously high reported income—these classic fronts let criminals explain away illicit earnings as business revenue.
The mob ran several front businesses in the neighborhood.
Also called fronts.
- shell companyInactive firm for transactions
- money launderingDisguising criminal proceeds' origins
- facadeDeceptive outward appearance
- storefrontRetail facade facing street
- coverProtect by overlaying
laundromat · cash only · mob · organized crime · legitimate · smuggling · cartel · mafia · wise guys · tax evasion · accountant · under the table · ledger · dirty money · clean · cooked books · restaurant · dry cleaner
- LaunderingAML, money laundering, dirty money, black money, placement
- Yakuzayakuza, full body tattoo, sworn brotherhood, syndicate, syndicate boss
- black marketblack market, illegal trade, smugglers, contraband, traffickers
- financial crimesbank fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, tax fraud, insurance fraud
- organized crimemafia, mob, the mob, syndicate, crime syndicate
- smugglingcontraband, smugglers, human smuggling, smuggling rings, people smuggling
front, fronts, frontal, frontage, fronted, fronting, frontward, frontwards, affront