When people in New Jersey get their hands on money through illegitimate means, finding a way to cover it up can prove difficult. One of the most common ways people launder money is through banks and casinos. Considering how much money passes through both of these entities on a daily basis, it comes as no surprise.
In 2014, Business Insider reported that banks were reluctant to cooperate in flagging people who use casinos to launder their money. This was true of not just U.S. banks but those all around the world. At the time, the federal government put increasing pressure on banks to better police customer transactions that indicated money laundering and report it.
Some bankers complained about the level of work that fell on their shoulders to cooperate in criminal investigations against their own customers:
- Vetting casino’s systems for anti-money laundering
- Offering information to help identify suspicious transactions in the gaming industry
- Checking to ensure casinos did not accept wire transfers from anonymous sources
Difficulties in cracking down on money laundering, particularly through banks and casinos remain today. According to the Washington Post, there are two ways that people launder money through casinos. The first is by running a casino themselves as it is a cash-heavy business. This allows them to mix legitimate and illegitimate funds, making them indistinguishable by deposit time. Another practice is to purchase a large number of chips, gamble a small portion of the chips and then claim the rest as winnings.
It is not clear if the new administration plans to tackle money laundering in casinos. However, there have been reports of organizations petitioning a raise of the $10,000 threshold for flagging suspicious activity.