The role played by globalization and ICT in the concealment process in money laundering has been aptly described by the following quote from a central banking thriller “Nest of Vipers” by Linda Davies: “the money screamed across the wires, its provenance fading in a maze of electronic transfers which shifted it, hid it, broke it up into manageable wads which would be withdrawn and re-deposited elsewhere, obliterating the trail”.
The linkage between money laundering and crime denotes that everybody as individuals is affected by money laundering. Crime erodes basic individual liberties in that it threatens their rights to life and entitlement to property. The consequences of crime and money laundering are bad for business, development, and the general rule of law.