Money laundering is the concealment of the origin of illegally obtained funds so that they appear to be from legitimate sources. It is often only one component of other more serious crimes such as drug trafficking, robbery and extortion

Money laundering affects all areas, including the more unexpected ones such as environmental crime, and has really taken off with the advent of cyber currencies such as bitcoin.

Organised gangs move illegally obtained funds around the world through banks, front companies, middlemen and money transfer companies for re-injection into legal companies and economies. Today, these gangs regularly use mules who act as intermediaries, sometimes unaware that they are transporting illicit funds.