Money laundering

Money laundering is the process through which the authors of some criminal activities conceal the true source of the property and revenue (benefits) obtained by illicit means, transforming the liquidity from such activities into legally reusable money, by disguising the origin and true owner of the funds.

Money laundering may encompass three distinct and successive phases, in order to conceal the property and origin of illicit benefits, keep the control over them and make them appear to be legal:

• Placement: property and revenues are placed in financial and non-financial circuits, through, for instance, deposits in financial institutions or investments in profitable activities and high-value goods;
• Circulation: property and revenues are used in multiple and repeated operations (for instance, transfers of funds), with the purpose of obscuring the money trail, eliminating any trace of its source and property;
• Integration: recycled property and revenues are reintroduced in the legitimate economic circuits, through their utilisation in the purchase of goods and services.

According to Portuguese law, money laundering is a crime - Article 368-A of the Portuguese Penal Code.