If no one knows about your dirty money why do you need to launder it

Question

I know money from drugs, robberies, stolen goods, etc is “dirty” but, how does anyone know it’s dirty? Why can’t you just spend your money?

In: 316

Answer 1

The bank secrecy act requires merchants to report cash transactions over $10k. So you can’t even buy a late model car with dirty money without the authorities being alerted.