Al Capone presided over a vast and profitable empire of organized crime.

艾爾．卡彭掌管著一個謀取暴利的龐大組織型犯罪集團。

When he was finally put on trial,

而在他終於被繩之以法後，

the most he could be convicted of was tax evasion.

能給他定下最大的罪名，卻只有「逃稅」

The nearly $100 million a year,

他每年逃漏稅金額近一億美元，

that's 1.4 billion in today's currency,

等同於十四億美元現值，

that Capone had earned from illegal gambling,

卡彭的收入來自非法賭博、

bootlegging,

販賣私酒、

brothels,

妓院，

and extortion,

以及勒索

would have served as evidence of his crimes.

這些不法收益能成為卡彭犯罪的呈堂證供。

But the money was nowhere to be found.

但這些錢卻消失得無影無蹤。

Capone and his associates had hidden it through investments in various businesses

卡彭與其黨羽透過投資各種生意將錢隱匿，

whose ultimate ownership couldn't be proven, like cash-only laundromats.

一些無法證明持有人的生意，例如只收現金的自助洗衣店。

In fact, those laundromats are part of the reason for the name of this activity, money laundering.

事實上，這種洗衣店也是「洗錢」 這個名稱由來的部份原因。

Money laundering came to be the term for any process that cleans illegally obtained funds of their dirty criminal origins,

「洗錢」後來成了泛指任何洗白非法所得，

allowing them to be used within the legal economy.

讓這些錢能合法使用過程的說法。

But Capone wasn't the first to launder money.

但卡彭並非洗錢始祖，

In fact, this practice is about as old as money itself.

事實上，自最初錢出現時，就有洗錢活動了。

Merchants hid their riches from tax collecters,

商人藏富避稅，

and pirates sought to sell their bounty without drawing attention to how they got it.

海盜設法將掠奪的財寶脫手，避免引人注目。

With the recent arrival of virtual currencies,

隨著近日虛擬貨幣、

offshore banking,

境外銀行、

the darknet,

暗網

and global markets,

與國際市場盛行，

schemes have become much more complex.

洗錢手法也日趨複雜。

Although modern money laundering methods vary greatly,

儘管現在洗錢手法迥異，

most share three basic steps:

大致上還是具備三個步驟：

placement,

「處置」

layering,

「多層化」

and integration.

和「整合」

Placement is where illegally obtained money is converted into assets that seem legitimate.

「處置」是將非法取得的金錢轉換成資產形式，讓其看似合法。

That's often done by depositing funds into a bank account registered to an anonymous corporation or a professional middleman.

這步通常會透過將資金存入匿名公司或專業中間人名下的銀行賬戶完成。

This step is where criminals are often most vulnerable to detection

這是最容易露出馬腳的步驟，

since they introduce massive wealth into the financial system seemingly out of nowhere.

因為這就像憑空生出大筆資金，並將其灌入金融體系中。

The second step, layering,

步驟二，「多層化」

involves using multiple transactions to further distance the funds from their origin.

透過多重交易洗掉資金來源。

This can take the form of transfers between multiple accounts, or the purchase of tradable property,

包括在多個帳戶之間的交叉轉帳，或是購買有形資產，

like expensive cars,

如價值不斐的名車、

artwork,

藝術品，

and real estate.

還有房地產。

Casinos, where large sums of money change hands every second,

隨時有大量金錢轉手的賭場

are also popular venues for layering.

也時常是多層化施行的場合。

A money launderer may have their gambling balance made available at a casino chain's locations in other countries,

洗錢犯可將其在連鎖賭場的賭金獲利移轉至位於其他國家的賭場支部

or work with employees to rig games.

或是聯合內部員工操縱賭局。

The last step, integration,

步驟三，「整合」

allows clean money to re-enter the mainstream economy and to benefit the original criminal.

讓洗白的錢重新流回主流經濟中，並讓原犯罪者獲利。

They might invest it into a legal business claiming payment by producing fake invoices,

他們可能會將資金投資到合法企業上，製造假發票索取款項，

or even start a bogus charity,

甚至是成立假的慈善機構，

placing themselves on the board of directors with an exorbitant salary.

自己成為董事會的一員，領取高額薪水。

Money laundering itself wasn't officially recognized as a federal crime in the United States until 1986.

在美國，洗錢本身至 1986 年起才被視為聯邦犯罪。

Before that point, the government needed to prosecute a related crime,

在此之前，政府只能用相關罪名進行起訴，

like tax evasion.

例如逃漏稅。

From 1986 on, they could confiscate wealth simply by demonstrating that concealment had occurred,

1986 年後，美國政府只要能證明隱匿事實，即可沒收財產。

which had a positive effect on prosecuting major criminal operations,

這對起訴重大犯罪有著正面影響，

like drug traffickers.

如毒品走私。

However, a legal shift has raised concerns involving privacy and government surveillance.

但這項變革也引起了包括隱私權與政府監控等相關疑慮。

Today, the United Nations,

現今，聯合國、

national governments,

各國政府、

and various nonprofits

以及各類非營利機構

fight against money laundering,

都致力於打擊洗錢犯罪。

yet the practice continues to play a major role in global crime.

不過洗錢活動仍是國際大宗犯罪。

And the most high-profile instances of money laundering have involved not just private individuals,

一些極受矚目的洗錢行為不僅牽涉個人，

but major financial institutions and government officials.

還含括金融機構與政府官員涉入。

No one knows for sure the total amount of money that's laundered on a yearly basis,

沒人能確切掌握每年洗錢活動的總金額，

but some organizations estimate it to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

但據某些機構估計，其總數高達千億美金。