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Adrian Humphreys has covered Canada’s underworld for 25 years and written three bestselling books on the subject. In this occasional series, he dissects the histories, mysteries and quirks of organized crime in Canada and beyond.

Money laundering is an after-the-fact crime. Only after drugs are sold, extortions settled, cons completed and frauds finished, does money need to be cleaned.

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Laundering, the near-invisible financial fiddling to make the money from crime look respectable so it can be openly used, is an essential element of the cycle that keeps mobsters and transnational crime bosses in business.

Exactly 20 years ago I wrote a feature headlined “How to launder a million dollars in eight easy steps,” which caused a stir by highlighting how easily the mob cleans its dirty money.

Two decades later, things are as grim as ever.

More dark money than ever is whizzing around the world; more dirty money is moving into Canada; and more sophisticated methods circumvent the few restraints Canada has imposed.