The crime of money laundering and its placement globally and regionally.

The term 'money laundering' first appeared when judicial officers in the United States used it to refer to the mafia's use of laundries and garages to mix illicit funds obtained from drug trafficking, gambling, and prostitution with the profits generated by these laundries; to provide financial and tax justifications for the legality of the source of these funds. This was in relation to the accusation against Al Capone of evading taxes from his illegal activities during the period between 1920 and 1930. This term gained popularity during the 1980s after a report from the commission formed by President Reagan in 1983 to investigate funds obtained from organized crime shed light on the noticeable impact for money laundering operations in organized crime, this term is included in American law in 1986 under the Money Laundering Control Act (MLCA).