The hottest Money Laundering Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top World Politics Topics

How To Launder A Billion Dollars Using Tether

Fintech Business Weekly • 252 implied HN points • 25 Jan 26
đź”® Crypto Money Laundering
  1. A Miami-based executive is accused of using Tether and U.S. shell companies to launder over a billion dollars by converting stablecoins to dollars and moving the proceeds across borders.
  2. Regulators and law enforcement are tightening up: crypto firms face fines and audits, payment processors are cutting risky partners, and some fintechs are seeking bank charters to change their funding and compliance profiles.
  3. Weaknesses in AML and onboarding—like easy account opening without clear nationality checks and misleading MSB registrations—make the financial system vulnerable and are driving calls for stronger monitoring and enforcement.

EXCLUSIVE: Fani Willis Campaign Funds Appear To Be Money Laundering Scheme

Emerald Robinson’s The Right Way • 4146 implied HN points • 10 Feb 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Money Laundering
  1. The Fani Willis campaign funds are suspected to be involved in illegal money laundering called 'smurfing'.
  2. There are concerns raised about individuals unknowingly used to make campaign donations, which is structured as money laundering in politics.
  3. Over $160,000 worth of suspicious donations have been identified in the Fani Willis campaign, all through the illegal 'smurfing' method.

Zelle Thinks I’m Pablo Escobar

QTR’s Fringe Finance • 60 implied HN points • 09 Dec 25
đź’° Finance Money Laundering
  1. Banks and payment apps like Zelle often flag and freeze tiny transfers, treating normal gifts as suspicious and disrupting everyday use of money.
  2. The system focuses on policing ordinary users because they’re easy targets, while wealthy actors evade scrutiny through complex methods like shell companies and art deals.
  3. Keeping some control outside the banking system—cash, gold, or decentralized options like bitcoin—helps prevent an algorithm or bank from freezing your finances.

Stop Weapons of Mass Deception

Diane Francis • 639 implied HN points • 09 Feb 23
đź’° Finance Money Laundering
  1. Financial secrecy allows wealthy individuals and corporations to hide their money, making the rich richer and increasing inequality. This harms democracy and pushes resources away from public services.
  2. Countries and financial institutions often enable tax evasion and money laundering by providing loopholes and anonymity to the wealthy, which impacts economies everywhere.
  3. To fix these issues, reforms are needed to increase transparency, ban anonymous financial vehicles, and hold enablers accountable, especially in the growing realm of cryptocurrencies.

How North Korean Workers Tricked U.S. Companies into Hiring Them and Secretly Funneled Their Earnings into Weapons Programs

Zero Day • 1344 implied HN points • 20 Oct 23
🌍 World Politics Money Laundering
  1. North Korean IT workers tricked US companies into hiring them to secretly funnel money to North Korean weapons programs.
  2. They used elaborate methods to conceal their identities, such as fake profiles, stolen documents, and VPNs.
  3. The FBI discovered the scheme, seized funds, and warned that North Korean activity is still ongoing.
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GLOBAL EYES

The Cosmopolitan Globalist • 9 implied HN points • 29 Nov 25
🌍 World Politics Money Laundering
  1. Steve Witkoff built his career around decades of Russian money and opaque real-estate deals that were tied to post-Soviet capital and criminal pipelines.
  2. Now acting as a special envoy, he is promoting a "peace plan" that closely mirrors Kremlin demands and appears aimed at reviving business ties and enriching those involved.
  3. Having U.S. policy shaped by people whose careers were forged inside the industry Russia used to project influence raises serious conflicts-of-interest and foreign-influence concerns.

Unravelling the Magic of Shell Companies

False Positive • 39 implied HN points • 15 Jan 24
đź’° Finance Money Laundering
  1. Investigating money laundering involves challenges such as identifying individuals, tracing illicit proceeds, and facing budget limitations in law enforcement.
  2. Beneficial ownership data is crucial in uncovering complex money laundering schemes involving shell companies that obscure the true owners and facilitate criminal activities.
  3. The new Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Database in the U.S. aims to enhance law enforcement capabilities by providing direct access to company ownership information, simplifying investigations and possibly reducing compliance costs for financial institutions.

Binance and the Trojan Horse

False Positive • 39 implied HN points • 27 Nov 23
đź’° Finance Money Laundering
  1. Nested accounts play a crucial role in facilitating financial crime by providing anonymity and allowing funds to move across borders through complex networks.
  2. Financial institutions and regulators face challenges in monitoring nested accounts and ensuring compliance with anti-money laundering regulations, risking involvement in criminal activities.
  3. Intermediaries like nested accounts in the crypto world increase regulatory control but also create complexities that could make it harder to detect and prevent financial crimes.

Dirty Skylines and Snow Washing

Diane Francis • 319 implied HN points • 16 Sep 21
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Money Laundering
  1. Many luxurious properties in the U.S. are bought with 'dirty money' from criminals and corrupt officials. These people use sneaky ways to hide their identities and wash their money clean.
  2. Real estate professionals, like lawyers and agents, often help these criminals by setting up secretive companies that hide ownership. This makes it really hard for law enforcement to catch them.
  3. There's a big problem with money laundering globally, which affects housing affordability and national security. Countries need better rules and cooperation to stop this flow of illegally obtained money.

Leonardo da Laundry

Diane Francis • 259 implied HN points • 08 Apr 21
🎨 Art & Illustration Money Laundering
  1. The art market is often secretive, which can help people hide illegal money. High-profile paintings like da Vinci's _Salvatore Mundi_ have mysterious ownership and location, raising suspicions about their use in money laundering.
  2. Tax havens and anonymous art storage facilities allow people to buy and sell valuable items without paying taxes. This makes it easy for criminals to hide their money without detection.
  3. Governments in the US and Europe are now cracking down on illegal activities in the art market. New rules will force art dealers to report suspicious transactions, similar to how banks operate.

Europe's Financial Crime Hunters

False Positive • 19 implied HN points • 21 Dec 23
đź’° Finance Money Laundering
  1. ACER, an EU agency, functions as supranational detectives to monitor energy markets in all member states and detect international manipulation.
  2. Energy market liberalization created opportunities for financial crimes like manipulation through financial contracts rather than actual energy trading.
  3. The EU is establishing AMLA to combat cross-border money laundering, introducing a supranational monitoring system to address weaknesses in the current national-level approach.

Alert: Central Bank of Nigeria Circular FPR/AML/CON/BOF/006/002

RegAlert • 0 implied HN points • 10 Feb 21
đź’° Finance Money Laundering
  1. Financial institutions in Nigeria must accept Machine Readable Convention Travel Documents and Refugee Identification Cards as valid means of identification for banking transactions.
  2. Effective customer due diligence policies and procedures are necessary for combating money laundering, terrorism financing, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
  3. The Circular FPR/AML/CON/BOF/006/002 from the Central Bank of Nigeria highlights the importance of compliance and vigilance in the financial sector.

Alert: Central Bank of Nigeria Circular FPR/DIR/PUB/CIR/002/002

RegAlert • 0 implied HN points • 08 Dec 23
đź’° Finance Money Laundering
  1. Financial institutions in Nigeria need to collect evidence of registration with SCUML from Non-Profit Organizations before starting a business relationship.
  2. Banks and financial institutions must update their customer account information according to the new requirement.
  3. The Circular FPR/DIR/PUB/CIR/002/002 outlines the additional Know Your Customer requirement for NPOs in Nigeria.