Who Is An "Alcoholic"?

"Most people can enjoy the occasional glass of wine with dinner or beer out with friends. But for other people, one drink becomes two drinks, which becomes four drinks -- they are unable to stop drinking.

Not everyone who drinks alcohol heavily is considered an alcoholic. People who drink regularly enough to affect their family or work responsibilities and who drink in a way that puts them in dangerous situations (for example, behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated) are said to abuse alcohol. Although they use alcohol in an unhealthy way, people who suffer from alcohol abuse do not necessarily develop a physical dependence upon alcohol.

Alcoholics, on the other hand, have a chronic disease. They are physically dependent upon alcohol. They feel a need to drink, almost in the same way that most people feel the need to eat. And once alcoholics start drinking, they are unable to stop. They develop a tolerance to alcohol, requiring more and more drinks to feel the same effects. When an alcoholic tries to cut down or stop drinking, he or she experiences the symptoms of withdrawal: sweating, nausea, shakiness, anxiety and delirium tremens (seeing images, severe shaking, confusion).

More than 17 million Americans abuse alcohol or are alcoholic, according to results from the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Alcoholism affects men more than women: About 10 percent of men, compared to 3 to 5 percent of women, become alcoholics over the course of their lifetime. Men who drink 14 or more drinks a week and women who drink more than seven drinks per week are at risk for alcoholism. Alcoholism is more prevalent among younger people (ages 18-44) than among older people."

"Rehab" Can Be Very Costly

"Rehab can be a costly proposition for many people. Even though the cost to the individual patient and his family has declined in recent years, treatment programs often reach into the thousands of dollars. In 2002, the average cost of a rehab treatment program was around $1,400. Residential treatment rates stood around $3,800, and outpatient methadone treatments cost an average of about $7,400.

Some rehab facilities' inpatient treatment programs can cost into the tens of thousands of dollars. Crossroads Centre, a rehab center in Antigua, West Indies, founded by guitarist Eric Clapton, charges an average of $15,000 per month for treatment [source: Addiction Resource Guide].

When the length of time required by a treatment program is factored, the perception of cost shifts. For outpatient non-methadone treatments, the cost averaged $26.72 per visit. Non-hospital residential treatments cost an average of $76.13 per day, while methadone treatments, usually the longest-term treatment cost an average of $17.78 per visit [source: SAMHSA].

How rehab is paid for has changed somewhat over the past two decades. In 1986, private insurers paid nearly 30 percent of the total cost of rehab. Patients paid nearly 14 percent of the total cost that same year. In 2003, however, both patients and insurers paid less for treatment, changing to just over 10 percent and 8 percent, respectively.

The burden of paying for rehabs has shifted largely to the public sector, namely states. Medicaid, state-sponsored insurance programs for the poor, and other state agencies paid almost 60 percent of the total cost of rehab in 2003. That year, a total of $20.7 billion was spent on treating individuals with a substance dependency.

Supporters of treatment programs point out that there is a cost/benefit analysis that should be conducted when viewing the expenditure of state money on rehab for individuals. One study concluded that the cost to society for alcohol and illicit drug use (including tobacco) totaled $500 billion in 2002 [source: NIDA]. This cost includes health care, loss of property, crime and other factors that society as a whole pays for, like prison systems. A 1993 Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)-funded study determined that the total cost borne by society for alcoholism came to $148 billion.

Some studies have shown that treatment programs have a tendency to actually offset some of that cost to society. One study by the NIAAA showed that for every dollar spent on rehab, three dollars were saved in other costs associated with the effects of addiction [source: ENotAlone].

Another study pointed out the human cost of alcoholism. Working off of the estimate that there are about 12 million alcoholics in the United States (an estimated 30 million in the United States, Japan and Europe combined), and calculating that each alcoholic may have a spouse, children and other close family members, the researchers concluded that as many as 60 million Americans were affected by alcoholism [sources:ENotAlone, Biotie]."

Note* When a parent ignores their child's drug problems, it has a devastating effect on us all. We all suffer from their criminal activity to support their drug habit. It is time for people to wake up and realize that drug addicts have a costly effect on our economy as a whole.

Does "Rehab" Treatment Work?

"Complete abstinence is the goal of rehab, and as such, this is how rehab's effectiveness is measured. For decades, a bounty of studies on how well rehab treatments work have been conducted, and what they've shown is that the most effective treatment is a combination of different treatment types.

Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy counseling along with medications, for example, has provided higher success rates than either of the two alone. Perhaps the most effective treatment combination is a treatment regimen consisting of a treatment program (residential, outpatient, etc.) along with attendance of a 12-step program, and weekly counseling sessions, either individual or group.

A study conducted in 1994 called the Target Cities Project showed that people who had completed a drug dependency treatment program, attended one 12-step program per week and had one counseling session per week had an 87 percent chance of abstinence six months after completion of treatment.

The study shows that 12-step programs and counseling play an important role in an addict's rehabilitation. Even among treatment dropouts who attended weekly 12-step meetings and engaged in counseling five times per week, the abstinence rate was 74 percent. Conversely, those who completed a treatment program but did not attend 12-step meetings, yet did attend counseling sessions five times per week, had an abstinence rate of 62 percent [source: American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse].

Another study found that a person who attended four more group or 12-step sessions and one more individual counseling session per month than another person has a 40 percent less chance of relapse [source: NIDA].

The length of time spent in a treatment program also affects the probability for success. Three months is the minimum recommended length of a treatment program in order to gain the best chances of achieving abstinence down the road. There are also other factors that have been shown to make rehab most effective. Coexisting psychological problems, like an anxiety disorder or depression, should be treated in a program that addresses both the dependency and the disorder together. This approach is especially important in treating compulsive disorders like sexual addictions and binge-eating disorders. These types of addictions are often the result of an underlying, related psychological disorder. Many cases of gambling addiction also coexist with substance abuse problems, and both problems should be addressed simultaneously.

It's also been widely held that rehab works best if the patient is willing and ready to discontinue his substance abuse. But recent studies of inmates at correctional facilities who are forced into prison treatment programs have shown that rehab in jail can lead to not only abstinence after release, but also lowers rates of criminal recidivism -- repeating an offense after having been punished for it before. As a result, confidence in involuntary treatment programs has increased. In some U.S. states, "drug courts" have been organized; judges can choose to sentence offenders to treatment programs rather than prison. In 2004, the court system referred 36 percent of Americans who received treatment.

Some nontraditional treatment programs also boast of impressive success rates. The Jude Thaddeus Program at the St. Jude Treatment House in New York says that it has produced a 65 percent success rate from its exclusive program.

Despite the success that some treatment programs have demonstrated, for many people, rehab isn't an option. In contrast to the 3.9 million Americans who received treatment in 2005, an estimated 20 million more needed treatment but did not receive it [source: Dept. of Health and Human Services]. Chief among the reasons why people didn't seek treatment was the cost of rehab."

Jacques Morial Failed To File Taxes

"While many of the cases against members of Marc Morial's inner circle have had clear links to contracts awarded during his City Hall tenure, Jacques Morial's offense does not appear to have any relation to his brother's actions as mayor between 1994 and 2002. Marc Morial, who has headed the National Urban League since 2003, has not been accused of any wrongdoing."

"More jail sentences are pending, however, in connection with the highest-profile case to come out of the City Hall investigation: a scheme to skim more than $1 million from the city's massive energy-efficiency contract with Johnson Controls Inc., which was awarded during the waning months of Marc Morial's mayoral term."

"One of the four co-conspirators, Kerry DeCay, who headed the city's property management department under Morial, began serving a nine-year stint in a Massachusetts prison last month after pleading guilty to corruption charges."

"The other participants in the conspiracy -- restaurateur Stan "Pampy" Barre, a Morial family confidant; businessman Reggie Walker; and former Johnson Controls project manager Terry Songy -- are cooperating with investigators and awaiting sentencing." | Read more|

Rehab Treatment Methods

"To understand rehab-treatment methods, we must first understand how addiction works. Our understanding of addiction has evolved over the past two centuries, and we've arrived at the conclusion that addiction is a "brain disease." Under this model, addiction is a chemical transition that takes place within the brain's processes. This transition takes the decision of whether to abuse a substance or engage in a compulsive behavior out of the hands of the addict.


To this end, addiction researchers have concluded that treatment is a long, multifaceted process that takes time. How much time is debatable; some say a month, some say a lifetime. But most modern researchers have concluded that treatment should consist of a combination of methods in order to achieve the highest potential for lifetime abstinence.

When an addict enters rehab for a substance-abuse problem, the first order of treatment is to help him through the withdrawal process. Some rehabs end there, while others include them as part of a larger treatment program including other aspects detailed below.

Twelve-step programs are considered by many addiction researchers to be the most effective form of treatment. The 12 steps to recovery, originally created by AA cofounders Bill W. and Dr. Bob, have been shown to increase sobriety rates over two years by 30 percent compared with Cognitive Behavioral Counseling (more on that later). Though it's repeatedly been shown to be effective, it's often criticized as being too indulgent to the addict's ego and too reliant on a belief in God. As a response to this, Narcotics Anonymous, one of the many 12-step programs that has roots in AA, has molded its program to support both believers as well as atheists.

Cognitive Behavioral Counseling (CBC) is a type of psychotherapy that's used for a variety of mental disorders, like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. CBC practitioners believe that concentrating on the reasons for the addict's behavior can help eradicate addiction from his life. Most rehabs include CBC as part of an overall treatment program, and counseling is usually offered in group, individual and family settings.

Medication is another aspect of modern dependency treatment. Medications may be used to help alleviate the physical and psychological symptoms of withdrawal. Heroin withdrawal is considered particularly excruciating, so methadone is often administered during the weeklong withdrawal period, but it's also used as a long-term treatment.

Antidepressants are also commonly used in the rehab setting. Depression may exist in conjunction with an addiction -- either a substance dependency or a compulsive disorder -- and may be used as part of treatment in both cases.

There's also a wide variety of nontraditional methods of treating addictive behavior. Some are ancient-- acupuncture is one good example of this kind of treatment. Others are relatively new, like the detox treatment created by Scientologist founder L. Ron Hubbard. This treatment is purported to rid the body of toxins and addictive substances through a regimen of vitamins, exercise and exposure to saunas.

Some conventional rehab facilities incorporate nontraditional methods of treatment into their wider program. High-end facilities sometimes include as treatment wilderness survival programs to build self-confidence and activities like helicopter rides to inspire awe and humility.

Other nontraditional programs stand alone. The Jude Thaddeus Program uses no medications and operates on the notion that addiction is a learned behavior that can simply be unlearned. Rather than viewing the battle against addiction as a lifelong process, this program aims to completely free its patients after a six-week stay.

But do these programs -- in conjunction or alone -- have any affect on addiction?"

How "Rehab" Works

"When we hear the term "rehab," we usually think of a residential treatment facility where celebrities go to "dry out." As it turns out, there are a variety of types of programs, and even more methods of treatment.


The success of prison rehab programs has shown that
involuntary treatment can be effective in breaking addiction.

There are several settings where treatment can take place. Hospitals often serve as rehab facilities, treating people who come into the emergency room with an acute drug overdose. This treatment usually doesn't last long; however, some hospitals do offer longer-term and more expansive treatment programs. Rehabs can range in appearance from a very clinical setting in a prison to a luxurious day spa on an exotic island, and everything in between. What most treatment facilities have in common is that they are divided by the length of the service they offer.

Treatment generally takes place as inpatient, outpatient or partial-hospitalization:

* Inpatient treatment (also called residential) - the addict is cared for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Inpatient rehab can be offered either as short-term (usually 28 days) or long-term, which consists of residential treatment for six months or more. Often, long-term inpatient treatment is court-ordered, and, in addition to treatment, includes resocialization, the process where patients learn to behave as a normally functioning member of society again.

* Outpatient treatment - takes place on a visitation basis. In this setting, a patient may come to a rehab facility to attend support groups, receive medication (such as methadone for the treatment of heroin), and receive counseling. In outpatient treatment, an addict usually goes about his daily life and sleeps at home.

* Partial-hospitalization - a combination of both inpatient and outpatient treatments. The addict receives treatment during the day and goes home at night. This treatment setting somewhat resembles the 9-to-5 work schedule most people keep, but rather than going to work, the addict goes to rehab.

Prison is another place that can serve as a rehab treatment center. In this setting, substance-dependent patients are removed from the general prison population to diminish the possibility that they'll be exposed to drugs or alcohol. Treatment facilities are becoming popular in American prisons, as they have increasingly been shown to be effective.

Regardless of whether treatment is received in prison or in a spa, the treatment programs are similarly structured."

Note: Convicted felons are usually tested, for drug use, before they are sentenced to prison. Son of convicted operative and politician wannabe, Stan "Pampy" Barre, has already expressed fear that his hair follicles will be tested.

The History of "Rehab"

"The idea of rehabilitating addictive behavior has existed since the beginning of the early temperance movement in19th-century America. This movement, which began in the 1800s, gave rise to our modern notions of addiction and the need for our society to help alleviate the suffering of its addicts.

The goal of the temperance movement was abstinence, or the complete disuse of a substance -- in this case alcohol. Eventually, alcohol became identified as an agent of social decay, and the movement increasingly believed that it was up to society to care for its alcoholics by doing away with any spirituous beverage.

The organization gave birth to the first rehab centers in the United States, called "sober houses," where men lived collectively, sequestered away from the temptations of the world. Sober houses were set up as early as 1840 in cities like Boston and New York by the Washingtonian society, a branch of the temperance movement.

The temperance movement began to focus on the general public. If society could be free of alcohol, they reasoned, then it could then be free of alcoholics.

After a century of gaining momentum in their beliefs and membership, the temperance movement helped to get the Prohibition Act -- the law that outlawed the sale, possession or consumption of alcohol in the United States -- passed in 1920. But American society as a whole wasn't prepared to give up its booze, and the law was repealed 13 years later. The experiment had a lasting effect: If America couldn't provide its alcoholics with a country free of temptation, alcoholics needed a refuge within the larger society where they could be free from the temptation of alcohol: rehab.

Eventually providing treatment for addicts was taken from the hands of goodwill societies and placed in the trust of the medical field. As medical science came to play a larger role in caring for the world's addicts, treatment came to be moved into more of a clinical setting. Rehabilitation now took place in hospitals, psychiatric wards and sanitariums.

This isn't the only contribution that temperance made to our modern rehabs. It also gave rise to fraternal organizations, like the International Order of the Good Templars, which served in part as support groups. These groups set the stage for America's first organized support-group treatment program, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Cofounded by Robert Smith and Bill Wilson (Dr. Bob and Bill W.) in 1935, AA created the 12-step program.

Throughout the 20th century, thanks to the success and popularity of programs like AA, it became clear that treatment programs were a viable solution to the nation's substance-abuse problems. As a result, President Richard Nixon was the first commander in chief to create federal funding for treatment programs. The budget for his antidrug policy, which would serve as the origins of the War on Drugs, was divvied up, with one-third toward eradicating the supply (police enforcement), and two-thirds toward getting rid of the demand (treatment). When his successor, President Gerald Ford, came to office he cut the budget for federal funding of treatment programs, making the division fifty-fifty.


This is ironic, because it was President Ford's wife who founded one of the United States' iconic rehab facilities, the Betty Ford Clinic. Mrs. Ford developed an addiction to alcohol and prescription medication in the 1970s, and as a result, she opened the Clinic in 1982 as a way to help others who shared her problem.

In the 1980s, the proliferation of private residential treatment facilities mushroomed. The peak of the War on Drugs fueled fears of addiction, and fueled the demand for rehab treatment. Interestingly, as the War on Drugs was showing a major effect on reducing drug usage in the United States, the use of rehab facilities in the country continued to increase.

So what kind of treatment is offered at these facilities, and how do they help addicts recover from their dependency?"

The Meaning of "Rehab"

"The word "rehab" has become a part of the international lexicon. While it can mean several things, it most frequently refers to a center or program where a person can find treatment for addiction. Although it's become so firmly embedded in our consciousness as a natural byproduct of the addictive nature of Western society, rehab is a relatively new concept.

Prior to the 1980s, anyone seeking help for a drug or alcohol addiction was sent to a sanitarium -- a psychiatric hospital -- or a traditional hospital. Think Patty Duke's character in "Valley of the Dolls" or Winona Ryder's character in "Girl, Interrupted."

In the '80s, rehab centers branched off from their psychiatric foundations to encompass several forms of treatment. This was partly due to a change in the perception of addiction. Rather than pinpointing a substance (with its addictive properties) as the cause of addiction, or believing addiction to be a weakness of will, addiction itself became viewed as a disease. However, what hasn't changed is the purpose of rehab centers: to provide a place of solace and respite where an addict can "kick the habit."

For many years, going to rehab was viewed as somewhat taboo. It wasn't an experience that was openly discussed and is still sometimes looked upon as somewhat shameful, as if the patient had failed somehow. But as more and more people go to rehab to find help for their addictions, it has come to play an accepted -- and necessary -- role in society.

Recently, the acceptance of a stay (or several stays) at a rehab -- as a consequence of fast living -- has became so widespread that some celebrities are reputed to have used rehab excursions as a publicity stunt to boost their fame.

Actress Lindsey Lohan made several highly publicized trips to rehab in 2007. Even Amy Winehouse, the British singer notable for her first American single "Rehab" (including the lyrics "They tryin' to make me go to rehab / I said no, no, no") eventually said "yes" to several short rehab stays after a brush with death from an overdose consisting of heroin, cocaine, ketamine (a horse tranquilizer) and ecstasy [source: Daily Mail].

Celebrities have even managed to boost some rehab facilities to fame. Centers like Promises in Malibu, Calif., and Crossroads in Antigua, West Indies, now enjoy elevated status thanks to some of their high-profile patients.

Although celebrities get the lion's share of the publicity for their visits, they aren't the only ones who utilize rehab services. The 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 3.9 million Americans age 12 and older received some kind of treatment for drug and/or alcohol dependency in 2005. Treatment was received in a variety of locales, including inpatient rehab centers, self-help groups (the largest portion) and prison [source: Department of Health and Human Services].

The wide array of treatments for people suffering from addiction reveals that a large portion of Western society has succumbed to dependency on everything from liquor to pills to sex, and even food. So what are these places where people can go to get help?"

Fighting Money Laundering

"It's a daunting task to trace the origins of any deposit when there are about 700,000 global wire transfers occurring every day [ref]. Which is the dirty money and which is the clean stuff? Within the United States, there are two primary methods employed by the government to detect and combat money laundering: legislation and law enforcement.

The United States addresses the crime of money laundering in countless legislative acts. Here are just a few of them:

The Bank Secrecy Act (1970) basically eliminates all anonymous banking in the United States. It gives the Treasury Department the ability to force banks to keep records that make it easier to spot a laundering operation. This includes reporting all single transactions above $10,000 and multiple transactions totaling more than $10,000 to or from a single account in one day. A banker who consistently violates this rule can serve up to 10 years in prison.

The 1986 Money Laundering Control Act makes money laundering a crime in itself instead of just an element of another crime, and the 1994 Money Laundering Suppression Act orders banks to establish their own money-laundering task forces to weed out suspicious activity in their institutions. The 2001 U.S. Patriot Act sets up mandatory identity checks for U.S. bank patrons and provides resources toward tracking transactions in the underground/alternative banking systems frequented by terrorist money handlers. For a more complete list of U.S. anti-money-laundering legislation, see FDIC: Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering.

In addition to legislation intended to detect a money-laundering operation, undercover stings are also a component of the fight. The DEA's Operation Juno, which ended in 1999, is a prime example. The DEA out of Atlanta conducted a sting operation that involved providing resources to drug traffickers to launder money. The undercover DEA agents made deals with the traffickers to turn drug money from dollars to pesos using the Columbian Black Market Peso Exchange. The operation ended with 40 arrests and the seizure of $10 million in drug proceeds and 3,600 kilograms of cocaine.

Despite these victories, the truth is that no individual nation has the power to stop money laundering -- if one country is hostile to laundering, criminals simply look elsewhere for a place to clean their money. Global cooperation is essential. The most prominent international organization in this respect is probably the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which has 33 member states and international organizations on its roster list as of 2005. The FATF issued the "40 Recommendations" for banks (there are actually 49 now, but the moniker hasn't changed) that have become the anti-money-laundering standard. These recommendations include:

* Identify and do background checks on depositors.
* Report all suspicious activity. (For example, if a background check revealed that depositor A works in a steel factory, and he typically deposits $2,000 every two weeks, a series of 10 $9,000 deposits over the course of two weeks should raise a red flag.)
* Build an internal taskforce to identify laundering clues.

The "recommendations" are really more like rules than friendly tips. The FATF keeps a list of "uncooperative countries" -- those who have not enacted the recommendations. The FATF encourages its member states not to deal with those countries in financial matters.

Other global organizations fighting money laundering include the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and smaller groups like the Caribbean FATF and the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering.

While increased worldwide efforts are making a small dent in the money-laundering industry, the problem is huge, and the money launderers are winning overall. Countries with bank-secrecy rules, which arguably have legitimate benefits to the honest depositor, make it extremely hard to track money once it's transferred overseas. Still, the FATF's uncooperative list has gone from 15 countries in 2000 to two countries (Myanmar and Nigeria) in 2005. By most accounts, this is a significant sign of progress. Only increased global awareness and cooperation can curb the success of the money-laundering industry."

*Note: Stan "Pampy" Barre' was originally charged with money laundering. Stan "Pampy" Barre' later pleaded guilty to other charges. Let's hope Stan "Pampy" Barre' pay enough in restitution to make up for the original money laundering charges.

The Effects of Money Laundering

"Depending on which international agency you ask, criminals launder anywhere between 500 billion and $1 trillion worldwide every year. The global effect is staggering in social, economic and security terms.

On the socio-cultural end of the spectrum, successfully laundering money means that criminal activity actually does pay off. This success encourages criminals to ontinue their illicit schemes because they get to spend the profit with no repercussions. This means more fraud, more corporate embezzling (which means more workers losing their pensions when the corporation collapses), more drugs on the streets, more drug-related crime, law-enforcement resources stretched beyond their means and a general loss of morale on the part of legitimate business people who don't break the law and don't make nearly the profits that the criminals do.

The economic effects are on a broader scale. Developing countries often bear the brunt of modern money laundering because the governments are still in the process of establishing regulations for their newly privatized financial sectors. This makes them a prime target. In the 1990s, numerous banks in the developing Baltic states ended up with huge, widely rumored deposits of dirty money. Bank patrons proceeded to withdraw their own clean money for fear of losing it if the banks came under investigation and lost their insurance. The banks collapsed as a result. Other major issues facing the world's economies include errors in economic policy resulting from artificially inflated financial sectors. Massive influxes of dirty cash into particular areas of the economy that are desirable to money launderers create false demand, and officials act on this new demand by adjusting economic policy. When the laundering process reaches a certain point or if law-enforcement officials start to show interest, all of that money that will suddenly disappear without any predictable economic cause, and that financial sector falls apart.

Some problems on a more local scale relate to taxation and small-business competition. Laundered money is usually untaxed, meaning the rest of us ultimately have to make up the loss in tax revenue. Also, legitimate small businesses can't compete with money-laundering front businesses that can afford to sell a product for cheaper because their primary purpose is to clean money, not turn a profit. They have so much cash coming in that they might even sell a product or service below cost.

The majority of global investigations focus on two prime money-laundering industries: Drug trafficking and terrorist organizations. The effect of successfully cleaning drug money is clear: More drugs, more crime, more violence. The connection between money laundering and terrorism may be a bit more complex, but it plays a crucial role in the sustainability of terrorist organizations. Most people who financially support terrorist organizations do not simply write a personal check and hand it over to a member of the terrorist group. They send the money in roundabout ways that allow them to fund terrorism while maintaining anonymity. And on the other end, terrorists do not use credit cards and checks to purchase the weapons, plane tickets and civilian assistance they need to carry out a plot. They launder the money so authorities can't trace it back to them and foil their planned attack. Interrupting the laundering process can cut off funding and resources to terrorist groups.

So the next question is: What are authorities doing to prevent money laundering?"

Some Money Laundering Methods

"Here are some of the ways that corrupt individuals launder money:


Structuring deposits
Also known as smurfing, this method entails breaking up large amounts of money into smaller, less-suspicious amounts. In the United States, this smaller amount has to be below $10,000 -- the dollar amount at which U.S. banks have to report the transaction to the government. The money is then deposited into one or more bank accounts either by multiple people (smurfs) or by a single person over an extended period of time.
* Overseas banks
Money launderers often send money through various "offshore accounts" in countries that have bank secrecy laws, meaning that for all intents and purposes, these countries allow anonymous banking. A complex scheme can involve hundreds of bank transfers to and from offshore banks. According to the International Monetary Fund, "major offshore centers" include the Bahamas, Bahrain, the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Antilles, Panama and Singapore.

* Underground/alternative banking
Some countries in Asia have well-established, legal alternative banking systems that allow for undocumented deposits, withdrawals and transfers. These are trust-based systems, often with ancient roots, that leave no paper trail and operate outside of government control. This includes the hawala system in Pakistan and India and the fie chen system in China.

* Shell companies
These are fake companies that exist for no other reason than to launder money. They take in dirty money as "payment" for supposed goods or services but actually provide no goods or services; they simply create the appearance of legitimate transactions through fake invoices and balance sheets.

* Investing in legitimate businesses
Launderers sometimes place dirty money in otherwise legitimate businesses to clean it. They may use large business like brokerage firms or casinos that deal in so much money it's easy for the dirty stuff to blend in, or they may use small, cash-intensive businesses like bars, car washes, strip clubs or check-cashing stores. These businesses may be "front companies" that actually do provide a good or service but whose real purpose is to clean the launderer's money. This method typically works in one of two ways: The launderer can combine his dirty money with the company's clean revenues -- in this case, the company reports higher revenues from its legitimate business than it's really earning; or the launderer can simply hide his dirty money in the company's legitimate bank accounts in the hopes that authorities won't compare the bank balance to the company's financial statements.

Most money-laundering schemes involve some combination of these methods, although the Black Market Peso Exchange is pretty much a one-stop-shopping system once someone smuggles the cash to the peso broker. The variety of tools available to launderers makes this a difficult crime to stop, but authorities do catch the bad guys every now and then."