Money laundering: towards an alternative interpretation – Chapter one

Purpose – To provide an alternative viewpoint about the issues surrounding money laundering. Design/methodology/approach – The paper combines narrative with argument and analysis in an attempt to deconstruct and re‐evaluate the reasons why international money laundering legislation has reached its present stage of development, and, of more concern, why there is still more room for it to grow. Findings – The facts and the fantasies surrounding money laundering have become interchangeable, depending on whose agenda is being best served. This is largely due to the fact that governments on a global basis have so far found no substitute for the value possessed by their ability to instil in the mind of the public, the fear of the actions of the “international cartels of organised crime gangs and terrorists” a series of moral panics which they are anxious to emphasise and at pains to amplify. Originality/value – The paper invites the reader to exercise skill and judgement to decide whether this is a realistic analysis of the real reasons which lie behind the introduction of the international laws and regulations which purport to deal with money laundering and the financing of terrorism.