Money Laundering
In short
Money laundering is the illegal process of making large amounts of money obtained from criminal activities appear to come from a legitimate source.
In plain words
Criminals take 'dirty' money from crimes like theft or drug dealing. They move it through various bank accounts or businesses to make it look 'clean'. This hides where the money actually came from.
A simple example
A criminal owns a small laundromat that does very little business. They mix their illegal cash with the shop's real earnings to make the total profit look legal.
Why it matters
It allows organised crime and terrorists to use their profits without being caught. Fighting it helps governments stop crime and maintain a fair economy.
Easy to mix up
Do not confuse it with tax evasion, which is hiding legal money to avoid paying the government.