ELI5 Money Laundering - what, why and how?

What is money laundering? Why can’t a criminal just spend good old fashioned cash? What are some of the ways used by criminals to launder money? Besides casinos, why are laundromats often mentioned? Why are countries like Panama and Cyprus ideal for laundering money? ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: courtimus, atomkanister, el_mochilero, skatingraccoon, jakob4800, mechadragon469, m34tbag, slippedtheslope and paxnova To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Send us an e-mail: [email protected]