A Picasso painting is used as collateral to launder ten million euros; dubious fortunes are transformed into real estate loans; ancient techniques are revived to transfer dirty money without leaving home; millions of dollars' worth of luxury watches are stolen by an armed group; cryptocurrencies are used to transfer cash via the bar-tobacconist down the street.Welcome to the incredible world of money laundering, which accounts for 3% of global GDP. From Dubai to London, tax havens to neighborhood shops, mafias to institutions, this book reveals the secret mechanisms that transform dirty money into legitimate capital. An anti-money laundering activist for thirty years, the author takes us to the heart of a globalized system where traffickers, wheeler-dealers, and the super-rich rub shoulders. He reveals the complicity of states, the gray areas, and the invisible mechanisms that drive the global economy. He points to the irresponsibility of those in power who, through blindness or amorality, allow this white-collar crime to flourish, threatening the very foundations of our democracies. A fast-paced, well-researched account that is as disturbing as a thriller.