Money laundering examples show how criminals turn dirty money into clean-looking funds. Common ones include structuring cash deposits, shell companies, trade mis-invoicing, real estate, and money mules. Large bank cases like Danske Bank and TD Bank show the same methods at scale.
Key takeaways
- A money laundering example is any real method used to disguise the criminal origin of funds.
- Everyday examples include structuring, money mules, and cash-intensive businesses.
- Business examples include shell companies and trade-based laundering.
- About 200 billion euros in suspicious transactions ran through Danske Bank’s Estonia branch from 2007 to 2015.
- In 2024, TD Bank paid about $3 billion after 92 percent of its transactions went unmonitored.
- Every example maps to the three stages: placement, layering, and integration.
On this page
What counts as oneEveryday examplesBusiness and tradeReal estate and cryptoFamous casesHow they are caughtFAQsRead more
~200bn EUR
Suspicious flows through Danske Bank’s Estonia branch (2007 to 2015)
Source: Danske Bank internal report
$4.5B
Misappropriated in the 1MDB scandal
Source: US Department of Justice
$800B to $2T
Laundered worldwide each year
Source: UNODC
What counts as a money laundering example?
A money laundering example is any real method a criminal uses to make illegal money look legal. The method matters less than the goal, which is to break the link between the cash and the crime that produced it.
Every example fits the same three-stage model. Money enters the system (placement), gets moved around to hide its trail (layering), then returns as clean-looking income (integration). If you can spot which stage an example belongs to, you can usually see the reporting trigger it should set off.
The examples below run from small and everyday to large and infamous. Read more: for the model behind them, see the three stages of money laundering.
Everyday money laundering examples
Most laundering is not glamorous. It relies on simple, repeatable methods that hide small amounts of cash across many transactions.
- Structuring (smurfing). Splitting a large sum into many small cash deposits, each kept below the reporting limit. In the US that limit is $10,000. See how structuring works.
- Money mules. People who let criminals move funds through their own bank accounts, sometimes for a cut and sometimes without knowing the source.
- Cash-intensive businesses. Laundromats, car washes, nail bars, and restaurants that mix dirty cash with real takings and report the total as revenue.
- Gift cards and prepaid cards. Buying stored-value cards with cash, then spending or reselling them to move value quietly.
- Gambling. Buying casino chips with dirty cash, playing briefly, then cashing out for a check that looks like winnings.
- Luxury goods. Buying watches, jewelry, or art with cash, then reselling the item for clean money.
These methods work because each transaction looks ordinary on its own. The pattern only appears when someone reviews many transactions together.
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Business and trade-based examples
Businesses give launderers something an individual cannot: a reason for money to move. That cover is why company structures show up in almost every large case.
- Shell companies. Firms that exist on paper with no real staff or activity, used to hold funds and issue fake invoices. Learn how shell companies are used.
- Front companies. Real businesses that trade normally but also wash dirty money through their books.
- Trade-based laundering. Over-invoicing or under-invoicing goods so value moves across borders while the paperwork looks routine. See trade-based methods.
- Invoice fraud and round-tripping. Sending money out for fake services, then cycling it back through related companies to look like earnings.
- Loan-back schemes. Lending dirty money to yourself through a controlled company, then repaying it as clean loan installments.
Spot the warning signs early
Run our money laundering red flags checklist to review onboarding and transactions for suspicious behavior.
Real estate, crypto, and digital examples
Assets that hold large value soak up dirty money well. Property and crypto both let criminals park funds and later sell for a clean receipt.
- Real estate. Buying property, often through an anonymous company, then selling it on so the proceeds look like a normal sale.
- Cryptocurrency mixers. Services that pool and shuffle coins to break the link between a wallet and the funds inside it.
- Chain-hopping. Swapping one cryptocurrency for another across exchanges to make the trail harder to follow.
- NFTs and digital assets. Buying and reselling digital items between controlled wallets to move value and invent a paper trail.
- Online marketplaces. Selling fake goods or services to yourself to convert dirty funds into platform payouts.
Use the tool: screen a person or company against sanctions, PEP, and adverse media data with Combined AML Screening before you take their money.
Famous money laundering cases
Large cases are the same everyday methods run at scale, usually because a bank failed to watch its own transactions. Each one below is a matter of public record.
| Case | What happened | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Danske Bank (2007 to 2015) | Suspicious non-resident funds flowed through its Estonia branch, mostly linked to Russia and former Soviet states | About 200 billion euros in suspicious transactions (Danske Bank internal report) |
| 1MDB (2009 to 2015) | Funds were drained from Malaysia’s state fund through shell companies, then spent on property, art, and a film | About $4.5 billion misappropriated (US Department of Justice) |
| Wachovia (2004 to 2007) | The bank failed to check the origin of funds from Mexican money-transfer firms tied to drug cartels | Weak controls on about $378 billion of transfers (reported 2010) |
| TD Bank (2024) | The bank left large categories of transactions out of monitoring, letting criminal networks move funds | About $3 billion in penalties, with 92 percent of volume unmonitored (US Department of Justice) |
The pattern repeats. A control was switched off, nobody reviewed the alerts, and simple methods worked at enormous scale. Read more: the full list sits in our roundup of the biggest money laundering cases.
How these examples are caught
Firms catch these examples by watching for the warning signs each one leaves. No single control finds everything, so firms layer several.
- Know the customer. Confirm identity and rate risk, with enhanced due diligence for higher-risk cases such as cash businesses.
- Screen names. Check against sanctions and PEP lists at onboarding and over time.
- Monitor transactions. Flag structuring, rapid movement, and round-number transfers with no clear purpose.
- Report suspicion. File a suspicious activity report when a pattern looks wrong.
Do this: review your onboarding and payments against the warning signs with our red flags checklist.
Screen a name against global watchlists
Run one search across sanctions, PEP, and adverse media data to check a customer or counterparty before you deal with them.
Frequently asked questions
What is an example of money laundering?
A common example is structuring, where someone splits a large amount of dirty cash into many small deposits kept below the reporting limit. Other examples include buying property through an anonymous company, running dirty cash through a cash-heavy business, and moving funds through shell companies. Each hides the criminal origin of the money.
What are the most common money laundering methods?
The most common methods are structuring cash deposits, using money mules, mixing dirty cash into cash-intensive businesses, buying and reselling luxury goods or property, and moving funds through shell companies. Trade-based laundering and cryptocurrency mixers are also widely used. All of them aim to break the link between money and crime.
What is a real-life money laundering case?
Danske Bank is one of the largest. About 200 billion euros in suspicious transactions flowed through its Estonian branch between 2007 and 2015, mostly from non-resident accounts linked to Russia and former Soviet states. The bank later pleaded guilty and paid about $2 billion to US authorities in 2022.
What is structuring in money laundering?
Structuring, also called smurfing, is splitting a large sum of cash into many smaller deposits to stay below reporting thresholds. In the United States, cash transactions of $10,000 or more trigger a report, so launderers deposit smaller amounts. Structuring is illegal on its own, even if the money were legitimate.
How do criminals use shell companies to launder money?
A shell company exists on paper with no real staff or activity. Criminals use it to hold dirty funds, issue fake invoices for services that never happened, and move money between accounts that look like normal business payments. The company hides the true owner and gives the money a false reason to move.
Is buying property a form of money laundering?
It can be. Real estate is a common laundering channel because property holds large value and sales look legitimate. Criminals buy property, often through anonymous companies, then sell it so the proceeds appear to be a normal sale. Many countries now require checks on the source of funds in property deals.
What is trade-based money laundering?
Trade-based money laundering moves value across borders by mispricing goods. A launderer over-invoices or under-invoices a shipment so money changes hands while the paperwork looks routine. It is one of the hardest types to detect, because a single mispriced invoice resembles an ordinary commercial decision.
How is cryptocurrency used for money laundering?
Criminals use cryptocurrency mixers to pool and shuffle coins, breaking the link between a wallet and its funds. They also swap between different cryptocurrencies across exchanges, a method called chain-hopping, to make the trail harder to follow. Regulated exchanges now screen customers, which reduces but does not remove the risk.
What are the warning signs of money laundering?
Warning signs include cash deposits just under reporting limits, rapid movement of funds with no clear purpose, reluctance to provide identity documents, wealth that does not match a customer’s profile, and complex company structures with hidden ownership. A single sign is not proof, but it prompts a closer look and possibly a report.
How much money is laundered each year?
The UNODC estimates 2 to 5 percent of global GDP, or $800 billion to $2 trillion, is laundered each year. The figure is hard to measure because laundering is designed to stay hidden. Only a small share of laundered funds is ever recovered, which is why prevention matters more than seizure.
What was the TD Bank money laundering case?
In 2024, TD Bank became the first US bank to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. It agreed to about $3 billion in penalties. Investigators found the bank had left large categories of transactions out of monitoring, so about 92 percent of its transaction volume went unchecked, allowing criminal networks to move funds (US Department of Justice).
How do banks detect money laundering examples?
Banks combine customer due diligence, name screening, and transaction monitoring. They confirm who a customer is, check the name against sanctions and PEP data, and watch transactions for patterns like structuring. When something looks suspicious, they file a report with their financial intelligence unit and keep records for investigators.
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Last reviewed July 12, 2026 · 10 min read · Written for compliance and risk professionals · By the WhoWiki editorial team
Key takeaway: money laundering examples range from small cash structuring to billion-dollar bank scandals, and each one maps to the same three stages.
