Money laundering has been addressed in the UN Vienna 1988 Convention Article 3.1 describing Money
Laundering as: “the conversion or transfer of property, knowing that such property is derived from any
offense(s), for the purpose of concealing or disguising the illicit origin of the property or of assisting
any person who is involved in such offense(s) to evade the legal consequences of his actions”.
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https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/money-laundering/overview.html
3 Stages of Money Laundering

Placement (i.e. moving the funds from direct association with the crime)

Layering (i.e. disguising the trail to foil pursuit)

Integration (i.e. making the money available to the criminal from what seem to be legitimate
sources)
In reality money laundering cases may not have all three stages, some stages could be combined, or
several stages repeat several times. For instance, if cash from drug sales is divided into small amounts
and then deposited into banking accounts by “money mules” and afterwards transferred as payment for
services to a shell company. In this case the placement and layering are done in one stage.
The estimated amount of money laundered globally in one year is 2 - 5% of global GDP, or $800 billion $2 trillion in current US dollars. Due to the clandestine nature of money-laundering, it is however
difficult to estimate the total amount of money that goes through the laundering cycle.
Philippine prosecutors are seeking money laundering charges against a former town mayor over her
alleged involvement in an online casino project.
Prosecutors have recommended the filing of 62 counts of money laundering against former Bamban
Mayor Alice Guo, according to a copy of a resolution from the Department of Justice released Wednesday.
Guo was among the owners of a property that hosted online casino entities raided for carrying out
internet scams and alleged human trafficking.
Separate charges are also being sought for 30 other individuals, including Guo’s associates, Zhang Ruijin
and Lin Baoying, who were convicted in Singapore’s largest money laundering case.
Guo’s involvement in the scheme “cannot be overemphasized,” according to the resolution. “She appears
to be its brainchild and/or architect,” it added.
Guo’s legal counsel, Nicole Jamilla, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. She said in
November that Guo was ready to belie “baseless” money laundering and human trafficking allegations.
The former mayor earlier pleaded not guilty to a separate charge of human trafficking.