Our researchers at Research Nester has observed that globally, money laundering activities worth between USD 850 Billion and USD 2 Trillion were reported on an annual basis. In the United States itself, these activities occupied between 17% and 40% of the global share, registering a minimum of about USD 350 Billion of the global figure. In the year 2020, banks around the globe received more than USD 10 Billion in fines for making such violations. On the other hand, these schemes costed between 2.5% and 5.5% of the global GDP. Our analysis also found that over 90% of the crimes related to these violating activities went undetected, despite of over 90% of the offenders being imprisoned globally.
By failing to implement effective anti-money laundering measures, the Iranian government was able to circumvent U.S. regulations for USD 265 billion, according to allegations made against Standard Chartered Bank in 2012 by the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS). The bank was alleged to have violated US sanctions against Sudan, Libya, and Burma. As Standard Chartered Bank continued to flout AML regulations and disregard sanctions against Zimbabwe, Burma, Iran, Sudan, Cuba, and Syria, the Federal Reserve Bank decided to give up on the bank in 2019.
The smallest island nation in the world, Nauru, is situated in Australia. In the 1990s, the island nation became a tax haven. Because of this, Russian thieves began using fictitious banks to launder money. Nauru failed to ask the appropriate questions and failed to verify banking customers. Nauru therefore assisted Russian thieves in 1998 in laundering an estimated USD 70 billion. Nauru was given a money-laundering state designation by the US Treasury in 2002, and severe penalties were put in place to match those in place in Iraq. With the assistance of the Financial Action Task Force, Nauru passed anti-money laundering (AML) and tax haven rules up until 2005.
A rise in the market size of anti-money laundering can be witnessed around the world over the past few years and this is further anticipated to increase at a CAGR of around 18% from 2023 to 2035. More number of money laundering cases and the requirement for monitoring money laundering activities have arisen than ever before, which is anticipated to increase the demand for such solutions. As per our research, the global anti-money laundering (AML) software solution market is poised to grow with a CAGR of around 17% between 2023 and 2035 and also touch a revenue of more than USD 5 Billion by the end of 2035. Supportive government regulations regarding money laundering is one of the major driving factors that would push the market growth forward.
Money laundering is viewed as a serious white-collar crime in the United States. The penalties for breaching the law are harsh. Criminals caught laundering money are normally required to pay USD 500,000 or twice that amount, whichever is bigger. Often, a judge will sentence a criminal to three years of probation. Some will spend time in prison for their misdeeds. If they are found guilty of a misdemeanor, they might serve up to a year in jail. If they are charged with a felony, they could be given a sentence of 35 years or longer. Hence, for business organizations offering anti-money laundering solutions and services, North America is treated to be a very lucrative market. As per our research, the anti-money laundering market in North America is expected to hold the largest share by the end of 2035.
On and all, with the growing incidences of money laundering activities globally, and several of these activities yet to occur in the years to come, the demand for anti-money laundering solutions and services would definitely be on the rise. Moreover, with the growing trend of digital currencies, such as Bitcoin and other similar cryptocurrency banking currencies, which are poised to change the ball game in the future, money laundering crimes are projected to grow further. Clearly, the need to address these issues would also grow, creating more opportunities for business organizations globally.