Customer Reviews

The Laundrymen

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a review of the updated 1998 edition of this book. This book is a very interesting read on world crime. The book details, quite correctly I imagine, the fact that the motivation behind most organised crime is one thing - MONEY!

The best way to hit back at organised crime is confiscate the proceeds and benifits of crime, money and assets. Unfortuntley, the criminals today are a sophisticated (at the top) as the people chasing them. There are also many countries, who lacking other resources fall back on "confidental" financial services as a way to make a living.

In many ways it's hard to blame these smaller countries and economies going into the money laundring business as globalisation and the corporate greed of the 1st world economies marginalise "traditional" economies and communities. It's a fact of life that people will make money any way they can - and if you are desperate enough you'll take the illegal or semi-illegal route.

This book takes you into the murky world of swiss banking - and it's NOT like the movies. Numbered bank accounts are a thing of the past. How the columbians got shot in the foot when they set up the mexican drug trade in a fit of diversification.

It also details how while crime has gone global in a big way, law enforcement has only done so sparodically, and not much will change until international co-operation is better organised.

This book just goes to prove that you can do a lot with banks if you are willing to pay the fees, know the world's tax havens (and their limitations) - and that cash is not always king (because then you need to go through the bother of washing it).

An illuminating and frightening book, which I'm sure is just the tip of the iceberg.

A fun book to read, although I wondered if someone in the DEA paid the author to write it! In Robinson's view of the world, the US government is always right. US government agents wear white hats, businessmen and their lawyers and accountants and bankers wear black hats. Robinson never questions the motives of the DEA/FBI/IRS officials whom he uses as information sources. He never questions the wisdom of the US war on drugs; indeed, he seems keen on expanding this war by enlisting financial intermediaries as government proxies. He ignores the likely impact of currency and financial controls on economic growth and personal liberty. He appears to have spent little time in the non-OECD world, where government corruption is the rule and where honest citizens have every reason to use cash and to hide their savings "offshore". In short: good entertainment value, and slick PR for Uncle Sam's drug warriors, but not an authoritative book by any means.

Jeffrey Robinson knows more about money than any freelance writer has a right to! I've read Robinson's fiction, and this reads like a novel. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your relationship to laundered money), this is a true account of the way money makes the world go round (and vice versa). An amazing accomplishment.

As as law enforcement officer involved for the past 20 years in the sorts of crimes described in this book, I can tell you that the book is right on target. It is totally accurate. And it is to the point. The stories are vivid examples of how money distorts the criminal justice system. The survey about cocaine being present on US currency is accurately reported, having been conducted by US Customs in Miami. As for lawyers pleading not-guilty when they have every reason in the world to know that their clients are guilty, it is not putting the prosecution to the task, it is moral bankruptcy!

This book is a very good basic introduction to money laundering. There are some very good chapters or parts of chapters, including: a description of the basic money laundering process, examples of how FINCEN uses CTR data, descriptions of Carribean (and other laundering havens') bank secrecy policies, etc. Many of the chapters degenerate into countless real-life examples of laundering schemes in painstaking detail. Overall, however, there is a lot of good, useful information in this book geared towards readers who are looking for a basic overview of money laundering.

While it is very difficult to find, you should find a way to get it. Reading this book changed my outlook on the world.

This has got to be the definitive book on money laundering. Not only does it read like a novel, but it's a book which has opened my eyes to a world I'd never imagined. They're out there... and now I know who "they" is. Wow!

Having worked in the law enforcement arena for the past ten years. I look with great earnest for authors and books which deal with my area of expertise. The Laundrymen is an entertaining and quick read. The subject matter could be tedious but Robinson makes it read like a novel. However, in order for him to do so, he takes liberty with some of the facts. He incorrectly identifies some names and places and also some of the facts. Although for the most part, he is correct. The book, for those who either know or were a part of some of the cases he mentions, is somewhat of a let down.

I found the book a quick an pleasurable read and recommend it to anyone who has an interest in law enforcement and money laundering.

Hard to know what the previous reviewer is writing about, because it is certainly not this book. The Laundrymen is the basic text on the subject, which is why it is required reading for my criminology/law students. It is clear, concise, highly readable and highly recommended. Robinson's sequel, The Merger, is also on the reading list.

This is the ultimate book to the understanding,and art of money laundering, but it's also very informative,and an intresting book period, if you ever wondered how narcotic dealers, and cartels, launder thier money here it is, in black and white, it's also a book to all you wannabe Secret Service out there, who want's to counterfeit laundering,and counterfeiting, this book is a great addition to anybodies library, me personally, I read books like this all the time, "for informational purposes" ;o)
but it's a great read, if you've got the time, this book will put you in the light, a fascinating topic, told in a very entertaining way. thank you.

~ Michael Vincent