Money Laundering 101: No financial knowledge is a waste

Let's say this Ozark of a movie is getting really interesting as I move from one episode to another. To get a feel of how money laundering works especially if you had no idea could be an obvious reason for anyone to sit back and watch.
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Marty Barde is forced to let his son in on the secret of his business since the boy reflects traits that any father would want to have in a son especially if he plans to leave the reins to him. I am not saying that Marty Barde is planning to do that but I could see it in his eyes that he appreciated how the boy wanted to learn about it, especially, when it meant he could have someone who understood him when the rest of the family didn't.

If he wanted to keep his children out of the league like most parents who want to protect their kids from the burns of an illegal business world would, I wouldn't blame him. But at this point in my life, I listen and nod, I don't judge, and I know without a doubt that trying to keep your children out of the family business means you want your legacy to end with you. This means there might be no dynasty because it stopped the moment you are called upon to glory.

For someone who wants to leave a legacy, I am sure, Marty Barde would want that too, so teaching his little boy, who seems really interested in his business, is a good plan for me. In fact, doing that means if something ever happens to him, nothing will stop the business from moving forward. So if someone happens to take his life so he could take away his business, he will meet the shock of his life, when he realizes that he left an heir. Someone with young blood, who understands and works with the times, in a way, that the business grows exponentially in merry memory of his dad.

However, I am not here to talk about inheritance, and why grooming an heir is important. Where I come from, we often pray certain prayers that the good Lord will uproot the things disturbing us from the root, and as I grew up, I realized we always forget to pray about the heirs of those things. Almost, like when I watched the movie, Fear Flies, and I realized that the family who held the keys to the growth of a particular community were only able to do so because the influence did not stop in a certain generation. The mantle was passed down from generation to generation. The only reason, everything came to a halt was that the last person on the family tree hadn't had time to build a family, so he literally did not have someone to take over from him once the enemy caught up to him.

Again, we are not talking about generational wealth or curses. Nope. Today, I'd like to share with you something Marty Barde told his son when he asked him, "How does it all work"? Marty responded;

Money Laundering 101

He told his son that if he came across a suitcase with five million bucks in it, even though his first instinct would be to buy a toy, an adult toy, of course. Maybe, a yacht, a mansion, or a sports car.

In a perfect world, It would be great to buy those things especially when you feel you are in luck for having found that sort of money.
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However, in our not-so-perfect world, the IRS won't let you buy anything of value with that money. So, Marty explains you need to get that money into the banking system. But as with everything in life, there are often glitches waiting at the end of the line of a good plan, so the problem with this newfound wealth of yours is that the money is too clean. Why? It looks like it came out of a bank vault, so you have to age it up, using whatever means you deem necessary. You could crumble it, drag it through the dirt, or run it up over with your car. Marty Barde said anything is fine as long as it results in making that money look like it's been around the block for a while.

After you have turned this into an old cash, the next thing you need is to keep a cash business. It has to be a pleasant business but have a way of helping you manipulate the numbers. When you find it, mix the five million with the cash you made from this joyful business of yours. This mixture will be able to go from an American bank to a bank in a country that does not listen to the IRS.

Once it goes into a standard account, all you need at this point is to have access to one of the random terminals to withdraw your money. At this point, your money is as clean as they come, it's as legitimate as anybody's else. And your job is done.

You see, money laundering might be a crime in a lot of countries, but, I thought, what if you had a good reason to launder money? I mean, you already know that sometimes good people find themselves in a situation where they have to do bad things to live another day. I may not know what strings, Del, had to pull to make an honest financial advisor like Marty do his dirty business, but whatever it was, Marty chose to do it because of his family. They needed a roof over their heads, food, items of clothing, and every bare necessity that they needed to get back. And he was as frugal as they come, so you would know that he was a good man.

So if you had a good reason to launder money, I see no reason why you shouldn't learn how it works. You probably do not need to get the money through drug dealing or robbery, maybe, you stumbled upon it as he said at the beginning. And being someone who has learned to be frugal, knowing that the people around you are not so keen on getting their hands on a large sum of money without resisting the urge to spend it as a show-off, you will need the basic knowledge of money laundering to keep this money safe from those who might seek to take it from you.

Almost like those who want to avoid paying taxes, they can lay their hands on money laundering schemes if they want. Or someone who is married to a partner who can't be trusted with a windfall of money. If his business or work is bringing in a ton of money, and he wants to protect the interest of his family, especially for future scenarios where the children will need to be taken care of, he could learn money laundering and send the influx of cash to work instead of allowing it to idle away.

Some people have offshore accounts for reasons such as this. They have bearer share certificates locked up in a safe to protect themselves. They do what they have to do to get by with very little, while the rest of the bundle stays a secret, away from public eyes, the IRS, and everyone else who may desire to reap where they did not sow.

I am not encouraging you to break the law. I am only telling you to watch your back. No knowledge is ever a waste.