I was posed an interesting question today, about money laundering.

[gweedo]

Can't any bitcoin business where they setting up a seller part and buyer part be considered a money laundering operation?

I was posed this question from someone that I was talking to about bitcoin businesses. It stunned me and I really didn't know how to answer.

Example:

Seller A setups up store at bitcoin business A. Seller A then buys Item A from Seller A. For a very low fees, it would more than likely come from a shared wallet, and could be considered a mixer.


How would you answer this?

[eleuthria]

This is the same situation for every business regardless of Bitcoins or not.  By law, sales are reported on your income.  Buying from yourself, you'd have record of a sale, and income to go with it, creating taxable revenue which is now "clean".

There's a reason you would always see movies involving organized crime taking place inside restaurants and other "family owned businesses".  It's one of the many ways to convert dirty money into clean money.

[franky1]

ANY business, whether FIAT or bitcoin can be a money launderer. the main difference between a legit business and a money launderer is if their morals are low enough to not care if the funds they deal with are 'dirty' proceeds of crime. and if the main objective of this low moral business is to clean up the funds, where its advertised business is just a front, and not the main profit making part of the business

[CompNsci]

the main difference between a legit business and a money launderer is if their morals are low enough to not care if the funds they deal with are 'dirty' proceeds of crime.

Or perhaps if their principles are high enough that they don't believe the government should be snooping in everyone's life and business.

[prophetx]

Can't any bitcoin business where they setting up a seller part and buyer part be considered a money laundering operation?

I was posed this question from someone that I was talking to about bitcoin businesses. It stunned me and I really didn't know how to answer.

Example:

Seller A setups up store at bitcoin business A. Seller A then buys Item A from Seller A. For a very low fees, it would more than likely come from a shared wallet, and could be considered a mixer.


How would you answer this?

You mean like if I open up a pizza shack and my uncle Vinnie comes and buys my overly priced pizzas for his  construction crew building a bridge to japan to pay me back for the the hit I did on Joe Fishlips for ratting us out to the Feds?

[Swordsoffreedom]

Wasn't that related to
http://fincen.gov/statutes_regs/guidance/html/FIN-2013-G001.html