Financial crime

Financial crime is illegal activity involving financial transactions, assets, or markets, typically committed for economic gain. It includes offenses such as fraud, money laundering, bribery, and market manipulation.

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Fraud: Intentional deception used to obtain an unlawful benefit or cause another person a loss. Fraud is a broad family of schemes that exploit financial decisions and transactions.
Placement, layering, and integration: A traditional model describing stages through which illicit proceeds enter, move through, and re-enter the legitimate economy. The model explains common ways laundering attempts distance money from its source.
Financial intelligence unit: A national agency that receives and analyzes reports about suspected financial crime and shares intelligence with authorities. Financial intelligence units turn suspicious transaction reports into investigative leads.
White-collar crime: Nonviolent crime committed in occupational or professional settings, often for financial gain. Financial crime is a major part of this broader category, but the terms are not identical.
Money laundering: Concealing the criminal origins of money by moving it through transactions or assets. It disguises proceeds from financial crime and other offenses.
Shell corporation: A company with little or no significant independent business activity or physical presence. Shell corporations can obscure who controls assets or receives payments.
Suspicious activity report: A report submitted by a regulated institution when activity may involve crime or illicit finance. These reports help authorities detect patterns that institutions cannot resolve alone.
Corporate misconduct: Improper conduct by a company or its representatives that may breach laws, regulations, or ethical duties. Some corporate misconduct is criminal, while other violations incur civil or administrative penalties.
Bribery: Offering, giving, requesting, or accepting an advantage to influence someone’s actions improperly. Bribes can corrupt financial decisions, contracts, and regulatory oversight.
Beneficial ownership: The identity of the natural person who ultimately owns or controls an entity or asset. Opaque ownership can hide the people behind financial transactions.