Money laundering is a white collar crime. Now, if you don’t exactly know what is money laundering, you are not alone. The offense is complicated. It is important to understand that money laundering is not an independent offense. Rather, money laundering occurs when an offense of some kind has already taken place. In layman’s language this is the process which white washes the black money. Money laundering takes place when people end up with a huge amount of money they cannot hide. The act of acquiring this money is a crime in itself. The might have come from drug trafficking, human trafficking or kidnapping. The act might be anything. But the fact remains the same, this white collar crime is a way of layering another offense.
Turlington Law associates are experts criminal defense lawyers. They have offered defense to people who have been wrongly accused of money laundering. These lawyers are experts at creating defense strategies for the white collar crime. If you have been accused of committing money laundering, you should not take it lightly. This is not an accusation which you can get away with. Without legal assistance you can be staring at prison time.
Stages of Money Laundering
This white collar offense is a cycle. It occurs in three different stages. To understand the offense you need to understand the stages properly. The offense begins with acquiring the illicit money. Once the money is at hand the white collar criminals make the effort to turn this money into legal money. For this the first step is placement. This is the stage where the money gets placed into a financial organization. This organization might be a bank or it might be something else.
The next stage is called layering. This is hiding the money in a way that people fail to trace it. The money after placing in the financial institution gets separated from the source. Usually the white collar criminals divide this money into small parts and send each part to different accounts in different countries.
After a quality time, the third stage of money laundering begins. It is called integration. It is bringing the money back. This is the most complicated process of all. This might happen through buying business or large investments.
Turlington Law associates say that people who are working in the financial institutions run the risk of getting involved in such offenses as banks play a great role in the entire process. Because white collar is a felony, you run the risk of going to prison for a long time if you are arrested for this offense. This might be without parole. For this reason, wasting time might be a bad idea. The more time you waste delaying, you bigger risk you get yourself into.
Hiring a lawyer will not make you look like a criminal. Everyone has the right to fight for fair justice. It is important to remember that lawyers who have offered white collar defense are the ones who can help you out in case you are arrested for the offense.