The fall from corruption to money laundering
It is said that the authorities in 1920s and early 1930s Chicago knew that Alfonse “Scarface” Capone, commonly known as Al Capone, was involved in illegal activities but they could not prove it because no witness could come forward to provide the necessary evidence. Those who were close enough to Al Capone were either very loyal or feared death and therefore kept quiet. Al Capone was also a very careful man who left little or no trace of any link between the criminal activities committed by his gang and himself. It is said that Al Capone only signed one cheque in his whole life and conducted the rest of this financial activities using cash. That one cheque was useful in convicting Al Capone on charges of income tax evasion. He was sentenced to a total jail term of 11 years. The successful conviction of Al Capone, inadvertently led to the phenomenon of money laundering. People with money from illicit sources now had to find ways of passing it through legitimate channels. The man