Which are the three stages of money laundering?

The three stages of money laundering, which are crucial to understanding how illicit funds are concealed, are placement, layering, and integration.

Placement is the initial stage where illicit funds are introduced into the financial system, often through methods that make it difficult to trace their origin. This could involve depositing large amounts of cash into banks or using cash-intensive businesses to mix illegal money with legitimate earnings.

Layering follows, where the goal is to obscure the origins of the money. This is achieved through complex layers of financial transactions designed to confuse and cloud the tracing of funds. Activities during this stage might include wire transfers, currency exchanges, or transfers between multiple accounts and countries, all intended to create a series of disconnections between the funds and their illegal origins.

Finally, integration is the stage where the laundered money is reintroduced into the economy and made to appear legitimate. This might involve the completion of investments, the purchase of assets, or any means that allow the money to be used freely without raising suspicion.

The other options include terms that do not accurately reflect the recognized stages in the money laundering process. For instance, while "conversion" and "transformation" suggest processes of changing or altering the money, they do not specifically align with the standard terminology