Money laundering and the harm from organised crime: Results

Money laundering and the harm from organised crime: Results from a data linkage study

'We examined the effect of money laundering on the harm associated with organised crime by using linked data on organised crime groups known to law enforcement from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and suspicious transactions reported to the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre. Involvement in money laundering by an organised crime group, and an increase in the amount of money laundered, increased the probability of organised crime and the amount of crime-related harm to the community. The increase in money laundering preceded the increase in crime-related harm, suggesting the harm was due to the reinvestment of illicit funds in future criminal enterprises. These findings suggest that reducing the amount of money laundered by organised crime groups would limit their ability to reinvest illicit funds in future criminal enterprises.'