The study broadly defines "money laundering" as "a process by which cash and other assets derived from illegal activity are disbursed for the purpose of concealing or disguising their criminal origin." A total of 149 money-laundering cases were analyzed, using a standardized, coded questionnaire to produce a quantitative and qualitative analysis. Drug trafficking was found to be the main source of criminal proceeds, composing 72.4 percent of the predicate offenses that produced criminal proceeds. Customs and excise offenses related mostly to the smuggling and distribution of contraband cigarettes and liquor accounted for 15.4 percent of the predicate offenses. Deposit institutions and real estate were the most significant sectors of the legitimate economy used for laundering criminal proceeds. In the course of a single money-laundering operation, a number of different sectors were often used in a series of interconnected links. Both operating and "shell" companies were established to facilitate the laundering process; no one type of criminally controlled companies predominated. The techniques used generally involved attempts to hide the true ownership and source of criminal proceeds. In 92.6 percent of the cases, the accused or an accomplice conducted a transaction with a company in the legitimate economy. Legitimate professionals that most often came into contact with the criminal proceeds being laundered were deposit-institution staff, lawyers, insurance agents or brokers, and real estate professionals. In most cases, the professional was apparently used unwittingly, although in some cases suspicions about the transactions should have been raised. 10 figures and 64 references