Evolutionary profiles, technological dimension, and systemic relevance of the phenomenon
Abstract: Money laundering constitutes one of the principal mechanisms through which organized crime transfers and integrates the proceeds of illicit activities into the legal economy, transforming them into apparently lawful resources that are difficult to trace back to their criminal origin. Far from representing a merely accessory phase in relation to the predicate offence, the phenomenon assumes a structural function in the operation of contemporary criminal economies, enabling organizations to consolidate economic power, social legitimacy, and the capacity to infiltrate lawful productive circuits. Technological evolution, the spread of the internet, the use of innovative payment systems, and the growing use of cryptocurrencies have significantly expanded the operational modalities of money laundering, making it faster, more opaque, and transnational. This contribution examines the fundamental phases of the phenomenon, its main projections in the digital context, the role of traditional and innovative financial instruments, as well as the relevance of the suspicious transaction reporting system and the international regulatory framework. What emerges is the need for a coordinated strengthening of prevention, monitoring, and institutional cooperation tools.
Keywords: #MoneyLaundering #OrganizedCrime #LegalEconomy #Cyberlaundering #Cryptocurrencies #MoneyMule #SuspiciousTransactionReports #UIF #AntiMoneyLaundering #FinancialFlows #PaolaLaSalvia #EthicaSocietas #EthicaSocietasMagazine #ScientificJournal #SocialSciences #HumanSciences #ethicasocietasupli
Paola La Salvia: former lawyer, senior officer of the Guardia di Finanza, lecturer in economic and legal subjects, expert in anti-money laundering and organized crime, Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, author of several works; her most recent publication is I malacarni, focused on mafia-type organized crime. LinkedIn Profile.
Introduction
Today, organized crime aims not only to accumulate money, but also to obtain economic and social legitimacy. In this process, money laundering plays a fundamental role: it is the offence through which the proceeds of illegal activities are transformed into apparently lawful resources.
Money laundering therefore constitutes the bridge between the criminal economy and the legal one. Thanks to this mechanism, profits deriving from activities typical of criminal organizations—such as drug trafficking, corruption, fraud, and other offences—can be reintroduced into the official economic system, taking on the appearance of capital originating from legitimate activities and thereby making it more difficult to identify their illicit origin.
The evolution of the phenomenon in the digital context
Over time, the phenomenon of money laundering has evolved profoundly, especially with the spread of digital technologies and the internet, which have expanded the possibilities for concealing, transferring, and reinvesting money. This new scenario is often referred to as cyberlaundering, that is, the digital version of traditional money laundering.
Despite the evolution of the tools used, money laundering continues to develop through three fundamental stages. The first is placement, which consists of introducing money of illicit origin into the financial system. This operation often takes place by breaking down large sums into many smaller transactions in order to avoid controls or automatic reporting. The second stage is layering, which includes a series of complex and repeated operations aimed at obscuring the trail and making it difficult to reconstruct the origin of the funds. Finally, there is the integration stage, during which the now “cleaned” money is reintroduced into the legal economy, for example through investments, business activities, or the purchase of goods.
Money mules, payment systems, and informal channels
In the digital context, these operations can take place much more quickly and are more difficult to detect. An important role is played by so-called money mules, or “prestaconto,” namely individuals who make their bank accounts available for the transfer of illicit funds. In some cases, these individuals are aware of the criminal activity; in others, they are involved through deceptive job offers or because they are in particularly vulnerable economic conditions.
Alongside traditional financial instruments, criminals today also use new technologies and payment systems. These include prepaid cards, contactless payments, and e-commerce platforms, which make it possible to carry out rapid transactions that are often difficult to trace. There are also informal money transfer systems, such as hawala or hundi, which allow funds to be moved between different countries without passing through the official banking system. These parallel channels are particularly difficult to control and, in recent years, have also spread in Western countries.
Cryptocurrencies and new forms of opacity in financial flows
An increasingly significant role in money laundering is played by cryptocurrencies. They present certain characteristics reminiscent of those traditionally associated with so-called “tax havens,” such as relative anonymity, limited controls, and reduced transparency of financial flows. At the same time, they offer additional advantages, including the speed of transfers and the possibility of operating on a global scale.
In some cases, criminals use techniques such as chain-hopping, which consists of rapidly converting funds among different cryptocurrencies or blockchains so as to make the tracing of transactions even more complex. The technological dimension of the phenomenon, therefore, does not constitute a mere instrumental update, but deeply affects the capacity to conceal and disguise illicit capital.
Advanced financial instruments and the complexity of controls
Certain advanced financial instruments can also be exploited to conceal illegal activities. Among these is High Frequency Trading (HFT), that is, a system of trading on financial markets carried out by ultra-high-speed algorithms. Transactions may last only a few microseconds and be executed thousands of times per second. This extreme speed, combined with the complexity of the algorithms used, can make it more difficult to identify anomalies capable of concealing suspicious operations.
The misuse of such instruments highlights how contemporary money laundering increasingly tends to exploit the technical sophistication of markets and the growing automation of financial transactions.
The scale of the phenomenon in Italy
In Italy, the phenomenon of money laundering is particularly significant in scale. According to a study by the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) of the Bank of Italy, the overall value of money laundering may reach approximately 1.5–2% of GDP, equal to around 40 billion euros per year. Moreover, according to the Eurispes report, more than 100,000 companies were infiltrated by organized crime in the period 2001–2020. Some of these companies operate as shell companies or phantom companies, used to issue false invoices, manipulate balance sheets, and reintroduce illegally sourced money into the legal economy.
The territorial distribution of money laundering largely reflects the country’s economic structure. The regions with the greatest weight are Lombardy and Lazio, where important financial and commercial centers are concentrated. They are followed by regions characterized by a strong presence of organized crime, namely Campania, Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily.
Suspicious transaction reports and pressure on the control system
To counter this phenomenon, Italian legislation provides for the use of the system of Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs). Banks, financial institutions, professionals, and other obliged entities must report to the competent authorities operations that display anomalous characteristics. However, the control system is under strong pressure due to the high number of reports.
The Financial Intelligence Unit, tasked with analyzing STRs, has a staff of around 150 employees, but must handle more than 150,000 reports each year. In 2025, for example, the STRs received reached 162,058, the highest level ever recorded. For this reason, the use of artificial intelligence tools and automated data analysis is increasingly being discussed in order to improve the monitoring of financial flows and identify suspicious operations more rapidly.
The international regulatory framework is also constantly evolving and requires close cooperation among States. From the earliest recommendations of the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) to the most recent European anti-money laundering packages, new rules have been introduced aimed at increasing financial transparency, improving transaction traceability, and strengthening controls over activities connected to cryptocurrencies.
Indicators of anomaly and operational prevention
The UIF has also defined various indicators of anomaly useful for identifying possible cases of money laundering. These include the use of opaque corporate structures located in high-risk countries, the buying and selling of goods at prices significantly different from their real value, cryptocurrency transactions inconsistent with the subject’s economic profile, and money transfers concentrated toward intermediaries acting as “collectors” on behalf of third parties.
These indicators play an essential preventive function, since they make it possible to intercept not only individual suspicious transactions, but also recurring patterns of anomalous financial behavior.
Conclusions
Money laundering today represents an increasingly complex, technologically advanced, and global phenomenon. The evolution of digital tools and financial systems has significantly expanded the operational opportunities of organized crime, making the phenomenon faster, more difficult to detect, and increasingly interconnected at the international level. In this context, it becomes essential to strengthen cooperation among States, develop a more coordinated and uniform regulatory framework, and enhance the tools for monitoring and analyzing financial flows.
Money laundering, in fact, does not merely represent a phase subsequent to criminal activity, but constitutes a structural element in the functioning of criminal organizations. While it is true that money laundering may occur even in the absence of organized criminal structures, it is equally true that organized crime could not exist without the possibility of laundering its profits. In the absence of such a mechanism, the proceeds of illicit activities would remain unusable and devoid of real economic value.
For this reason, combating money laundering is not merely an instrument for protecting the financial system, but constitutes one of the most effective means of weakening and striking at the root of the economic power of organized crime.
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