ElI5: Money Laundering: Those US candy shops on UK High Streets, How are they money laundering, what is it and how is it so well known?

Question

In the UK it is widely ‘known’ and accepted that the sweet shops and phone shops on places like the famous Oxford Street are fronts for money laundering. Can anyone explain to me what money laundering is and what these shops are actually doing? How do people know these shops are doing it? I don’t understand.

In: 1554

Answer 1

Gaming venues are used for that in parts of Australia. Walk into a pub with pokies (I believe Americans call them slots), pump in $7100 in cash, play $100, then call for your payout. These days, the payout has to be signed for, ID, etc, so there is a record of A.Capone winning big at the Town & Country. I remember emptying pokies at a bar I worked at in the late 90s, you’d find thousands of dollars in 50s, all lined up, crisp and neat