The U.S. Treasury Departments Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) defines money laundering as the process of making illegally-gained proceeds appear legal, through a three-step layering process of placement, layering and integration. First, illegitimate funds are furtively introduced into the legitimate financial system. Then the money is moved around to create confusion, sometimes by wiring or transferring through numerous accounts. Finally, it is integrated into the financial system through additional transactions until the dirty money appears clean.

Anti-Money Laundering Deskbook: A Practical Guide to Law and Compliance unravels the complexity and walks the reader through the federal statutory framework, which has evolved substantially since 9/11 and U.S. PATRIOT Act; describes the growing list of specified unlawful activities (SUAs) that are predicate offenses to money laundering violations; provides a thorough discussion of all the major cases considering money laundering activity; and provides a road map to an effective compliance program.

The Anti-Money Laundering Deskbook helps the reader to understand when property is considered involved in or traceable to an offense and thus may be seized or forfeited; how the structuring of funds to avoid required reporting is an offense regardless of whether the funds are derived from illegal or entirely legal activity; and how international organizations are adapting to the constantly changing attempts to evade prosecution through complex e-transfers.

Finally, this comprehensive text discusses the increasing difficulty that countries have in controlling money laundering as commercial exchanges increasingly rely on non-bank institutions.