Money laundering in the jewellery business

Purpose This paper aims to illustrate how white-collar criminals launder money in the jewellery business. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 white-collar criminals and 50 compliance and prevention experts in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. Following the qualitative content analysis of their responses, a quantitative survey of 200 compliance officers was then conducted in the same geographical area. These two methods reveal the concrete techniques used by money launderers and the compliance industry’s (lack of) awareness. Findings The jewellery business is susceptible to laundering money. It facilitates both the placement and layering of incriminated assets. Research limitations/implications As the findings of the qualitative study are based on semi-standardised interviews, they are limited to the 100 interviewees’ perspectives. Practical implications The identification of concrete methods of money laundering provides valuable insight into criminal activity for compliance officers, law enforcement agencies and legislators. A more profound understanding of the methods used by criminals should foster more effective crime prevention. Originality/value While prior literature predominantly focusses on the organisations and mechanisms aimed at fighting money laundering, this paper considers how criminals avoid detection by exploring both prevention experts’ and criminals’ perspectives.