English Rewind - News Words: Money laundering

Hello! Catherine here from BBC Learning English.

Just so you know, this programme is from the BBC Learning English archive.

It was originally broadcast in March 2010 on our website.

We hope you enjoy it.

You're listening to News Words.

BBC journalist Clare Arthurs

talks about words and phrases commonly used in news reports.

Today's phrase — 'money laundering'.

If you like a good crime story, or even if you regularly wash your clothing,

it's possible you're familiar with the word 'laundry',

a noun to describe a place where washing is done,

or the clothes which need to be washed, as in 'to do the laundry'.

You're probably thinking: What's grime got to do with crime?

Well, another word for washing, or 'to do the washing', is 'to launder'.

When something has been washed, it's been 'laundered'.

Criminals have money from the proceeds of crime,

perhaps from selling drugs or people smuggling.

To make the money appear legitimate,

the criminals try to hide the sequence of documents, or the 'paper trail',

which could identify the source of the money.

Criminals create a false trail

to make the money look as if it's been earned honestly,

perhaps appearing to come from the sale of a house,

or winnings from a casino or horse race.

They don't literally wash the money,

but the process of hiding its source is known as 'money laundering'.

When 'money laundering' is used in the news,

it most often refers to a suspicion of crime.

"A man has been charged with tax evasion and money laundering,"

or, "Police are concerned about organised crime and a web of gambling,

prostitution, drugs and money laundering."

It's particularly in the news at present

because the authorities in many countries are attempting to follow the paper trail

which will reveal how terrorist groups are receiving money.

That was News Words from BBC Learning English dot com.