HOW BIG IS THE PROBLEM AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Estimates of the size of the money laundering problem totals more than $500 billion annually world - wide. This is a staggering amount and detrimental by any calculation to the financial systems involved.

Clearly the problem is enormous. It is also clear that money laundering extends far beyond hiding drug profits. In the UK this is evidenced in the legislation that has been enacted to counter this crime. For example, confiscation and money laundering provisions are contained in the Drug Trafficking Offences Act 1986 (DTOA), in the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1990. These provisions focus particularly on drug trafficking. However, the Criminal Justice Act 1993 makes the laundering of the proceeds of non-drug trafficking crimes an offence for the first time. It was not until the enactment of the Criminal Justice (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 and the Proceeds of Crime (Scotland) Act 1995 (both came into effect from 1-4-96) that Scotland came into line with England regarding the extension of money laundering to cover all crime proceeds.