According to latest news, Exclusive Mining is one of the hottest ways to launder money right now. However, a new post by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) reports that the cryptocurrencies are not so popular for laundering and fiat money is still the most used method for illegal purposes.
To have an idea about the money we are talking here, every year, 750 billion dollars to 2 trillion are laundered via fiat channels. This is indeed a really huge number when compared to the money laundered via cryptocurrencies. "Identified cases of laundering through cryptocurrencies remain relatively small compared to the volumes of cash laundered through traditional methods,” the report reads. Some of the most popular methods of money laundering right now are mules, cash businesses and, of course, front companies.
One of the most interesting examples that uses crypto-laundering instead of fiat, mentioned by Decrypt.co, is the Lazarus Group. These guys are a team of Korean hackers who take stolen money, convert it to crypto and then send it back to their clients. SWIFT believes that this is just a rare phenomenon and the real crypto laundering will begin in the future.
One of the most clever ways to use cryptocurrency is for the laundering of stolen bank funds. The huge success of altcoins in combination with services like mixers open the way to create some shady cryptocurrency transactions with some legal transactions to cover the tracks. You can read the full article on using exclusive mining for laundering here.
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Foivos Karkanis
