When we hear the words ‘money laundering’, our inquisitiveness reaches a level high and we start craving to understand the intricacies involved in it. Many of us want to know what exactly it is, is it possible, why people do it, how it is done and so many associated questions with it. But before I feed a part of your inquisitiveness, let me acquaint you with the law that says ‘money laundering is a punishable crime’.
Defining Money Laundering
Money laundering is the process of entering into financial transactions in such a way so as to ostensibly hide the actual source of money and make it appear from a legitimate source. Sometimes, you must have heard people saying “I got a black, please tell me if there is any way to convert it to white, i.e. convert into legal money”. Actually, they are looking for ways of launder their money.
Pros and Cons of Money Laundering
I am not going to give you a clear cut answer whether it is good to have these hassles of money laundering or not. But I will definitely let you know the probable benefits and drawbacks of the process. Since this article is not in any way about encouraging you to follow such illegal practices, let us first discuss about the negative points (de-motivating reasons):
1) To reinforce, it is an illegal activity. If caught, you can be punished with imprisonment for a tenure that depends on the criticalities of your act. Your career, your reputation in the society everything can be at stake.
2) It is an expensive way out. Money laundering is not a simple procedure. It may involve many people and as per my idea, they charge a hefty amount. First and foremost requirement is the availability of a financial service, then a person or persons to implement the plan. This may even cost you 50% of what you are trying to convert.
The only major benefit in dealing with all the hassles and risks involved in the process of money laundering is you can make a big amount of money and with it you can surely enjoy the amenities of life. Every system has an inbuilt loophole in it. The one who carries knowledge of how to exploit the system and seek benefit out of it without being caught is the one who can mint money. Further, globalization has made it easy to launder money. Several anti-money laundering laws have been framed till now and many measures have been taken to curb the practice across globe but unfortunately not even a single measure or law has proved to reduce the cases of money laundering. Since the statistics for these cases are not available, it points to the fact that there must be so many cases that go unaccounted. Money laundering for a small amount may have bright chances of being unnoticed as compared to the big blunders. However, if your luck does not prove to be on your side, you can still be caught for a small laundered amount.
Now, weigh the pros and cons on your own and I am sure you will get an answer to the question “whether is it good to have these hassles or not”.
