Vape Shops, Crypto and Luxury Watches: How Money Laundering Is Everywhere

When it comes to the relationship between capitalism and crime, those on the left generally think of exploitation. People often turn to crime, so the thinking goes, because they can’t make ends meet by legitimate means. Whatever your views on that framing, there is also another – far less discussed – connection between capitalism and crime, namely the relationship between elites, the shadow economy and money laundering. ​

On Downstream this week, Aaron Bastani talks to Oliver Bullough about his latest book: Everybody Loves Our Dollars: How Money Laundering Won. Bullough explains how money laundering, as a global phenomenon, is estimated to be worth trillions of dollars a year. What makes such industrial-scale crime even possible is, ironically, the basic infrastructure that permits globalised trade in the first place: a basket of important currencies, centring on the American dollar.

So while the White House talks about the war on drugs, or the war on crime, the currency being issued by the Federal Reserve – America’s bank – is what makes much of that crime profitable at all. It turns out, according to Bullough, that while elected officials talk tough, they generally fail to take necessary steps to curb the global flow of dirty money.

While completely eliminating laundering may never be possible, making a start is easier than you think. What is money laundering, and why should you care about it? How does it look different in places like China and Russia when compared to the United States or Europe? Is it really like the TV shows? What do vape shops, NFTs and luxury watches all have in common? And is rampant criminal activity much more common, and closer to home, than we are led to believe?