What is an example of a "layering" technique in money laundering?

Layering in money laundering is a stage where the aim is to obscure the origins of illicit funds by moving them through various transactions and creating complexity, making it difficult for authorities to trace the money back to its illegal source.

Creating complex ownership structures is a classic example of layering because it involves establishing multiple layers of ownership, such as trusts, corporations, or shell companies, making it challenging to identify the true owner of the illicit funds. This approach effectively masks the source of the money by diffusing ownership and complicating the trail, thereby making it harder for law enforcement to track the funds back to criminal activities.

The other techniques mentioned, while they may play a role in the overall money laundering process, serve different purposes. Structuring deposits, for example, is often considered part of the placement phase, where cash is being introduced into the financial system in a way that avoids detection. Investing illicit gains in legitimate businesses can be seen as part of the integration phase, where the laundered money is reintroduced into the economy as seemingly legitimate funds. Using transactions with high-value assets could also fall under both layering and integration, but it does not encapsulate the essence of layering as thoroughly as creating complex ownership structures does.