Money laundering is a commonly occurring and strictly prosecuted offence that has become even more prevalent with the rise of cryptocurrencies, ultimately leading to the surge of global initiatives such as the UN Global Programme against Money Laundering and special Interpol practice centres focused on money laundering schemes. Unjustly accused persons or entities usually find out about the investigations against them when their assets are frozen or confiscated or when they are arrested at an airport based on an Interpol notice. The occurrence of so-called „money mules“ is another increasingly widespread phenomenon, concerning individuals who are prosecuted for unknowingly or unwillingly being used to legitimize money.

If you find yourself accused of money laundering in any capacity or suspect to be the subject of an Interpol Red Notice, please do not hesitate to contact us now for immediate legal aid. Our Extradition and Interpol team specialises in cases concerning international financial crime and provides comprehensive assistance when seeking Interpol Red Notice removal and the removal of data from Interpol’s database.

The gravity and impact of money laundering become obvious when looking at the estimated amount of money laundered worldwide annually, ranging from 800 billion to 2 trillion US dollars. According to Interpol, money laundering can be defined as “the concealing or disguising of the origins of illegally obtained proceeds so that they appear to have originated from legitimate sources.” These proceeds usually stem from illegal activities, such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, embezzlement, corruption, or gambling.

An approach to combating money laundering is the obligation of banks to report payment transactions that could potentially be suspicious. However, this also means that legitimate payments can become conspicuous and be incorrectly investigated further. For example, large cash transactions, frequent transfers between accounts, or international wire transfers for legitimate business purposes can lead to bona fide individuals or companies being falsely suspected of involvement in money laundering offences. Individuals can also find themselves falsely accused of money laundering because of false accusations or reports, mistakes, or errors in financial records, in cases of identity theft or impersonation or because of flawed investigative procedures.

Money Mules

The “Money mules”, who unwittingly and unwillingly become part of a money laundering operation, are still fully subject to criminal prosecution. Money mules are recruited in a variety of ways. These include false job advertisements that require little prior knowledge and promise high commissions, promising investment opportunities and romance scams. In most cases, the money mule is asked to withdraw money, that was sent to them and transfer it to a foreign bank account, often through cryptocurrencies. Anyone who suspects they have been involved in a money laundering fraud is advised to contact a lawyer immediately to minimise the potential criminal consequences.

Interpol has a strong focus on combating financial crime and, in particular, large-scale money laundering schemes. To this end, Interpol has established the INTERPOL Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre (IFCACC), which is specifically designed to uncover illegal international financial flows and to detect new money laundering schemes.

To locate suspected perpetrators or witnesses of international financial offences, states can and regularly do request various Interpol Notices to locate the persons concerned and detain them for questioning or extradition. Our team is well experienced with the removal of Interpol Red Notices and the protection of white-collar-criminals from extradition.