A Global Overview of Money Laundering  Crime pays and criminals naturally want to be able to enjoy their profits without worrying about the police or the courts. This is not a new economic or sociological problem. However, geopolitical developments over the past 50 years together with economic globalization have meant that the international movement of money has increased. The rapid expansion of international financial activity has gone hand-in-hand with the development of transnational crime, which takes advantage of political borders and exploits the differences between legal systems in order to maximize profits. The groups involved are genuinely multinational and pose a direct threat to the financial stability of economic systems. They destabilize democracy because they are backed by clandestine networks subject to the law of the underworld. Money laundering cannot be disassociated from other forms of crime. It is a fact that it thrives on ....