Money laundering is the process of making illegally obtained money appear legitimate. It is carried out in three main stages: the first stage is placement where money gained from crimes such as fraud or drug trafficking is introduced into the financial system; the second stage is layering, which involves moving the money through different accounts, investments, or international transactions to hide its true source; the final stage is integration, where the “cleaned” money re-enters the economy and appears legal.

For information on penalties for money laundering, please click this link: https://www.fic.gov.rw/faqs and see Question 08.