The Fight Against Money Laundering in Latvia and Sweden

Issue & Policy Briefs October 21, 2010, No. 40

The common denominator in all transnational criminal activities is money laundering, the process by which the proceeds of illegal activities are converted into means for legal investments. The fight against money laundering means combating large scale crime. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimate that shadow transactions amounted to between US$6.5 trillion and US$9 trillion, equaling 20-25% of total global GDP. On the other hand, the United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) assesses the annual turnover from the entire criminal market to be around US$1500 billion. This Policy Brief summarizes the proceedings of the Workshop on Money Laundering organized by the Institute for Security and Development Policy, and the Riga Stradins University, Latvia, held May 28, 2010.

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