Bank Secrecy Act Basics: 02. Money Laundering 101

When the U.S. government started to track large cash transactions, criminals responded by developing ways to hide the true source of their money flow, also known as money laundering. Money laundering is the process of making illegally gained funds appear to be legal. Illegally gained funds are often referred to as "dirty money." That's where the term "laundering" comes from; turning dirty money into clean money. In this program, we'll talk about the basics of money laundering. Then, we'll go over how it works, how it impacts the economy, and what the U.S. is doing to put a stop to it.