Money laundering is a process whereby the origin of funds generated by illegal means is concealed (drug trafficking, gun smuggling, corruption, etc.). The objective of the operation, which usually takes places in several stages, consists in making the capital and assets that are illegally gained seem as though they are derived from a legitimate source, and inserting them into economic circulation. Money laundering is not a new phenomenon: it's as old as crime itself. Criminals have always endeavored to conceal the origin of illegally generated funds in order to erase all trace of their wrongdoings. Nevertheless, the forms and dimensions of this type of crime have evolved in recent years. Since the seventies, the escalation of the drug market and globalization of organized crime have led to a collective raised awareness with regard to the problem of money laundering.

Due to its stability, the quality of services offered and its bank secrecy, the Swiss financial hub, like other foreign financial market places, was used by criminals who wished to shield money generated by their illegal activities.

The banks are not the only pawn used to conceal the criminal origin of capital assets. Since all bank transactions can be reconstituted and the criminal judge can conduct investigations on them, they are not particularly suited for money laundering. That is why money launders tend to operate through fictive companies, casinos, restaurants, jewelry stores, car dealers and art agents, as well as import-export operations.

Since the early eighties, Swiss authorities and banks have reacted to the danger that abuse of the financial market by criminal organizations embodies. The national and international instruments that have been developed over the years have thus modernized the repressive measures derived from ordinary criminal law and have created a new relationship between the authorities and those involved in the financial sector. They are currently committed to actively joining forces in the fight against money laundering.

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