Novara Media Downstream: Vape Shops, Crypto and Luxury Watches: How Money Laundering Is Everywhere w/ Oliver Bullough
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Feb 9, 2026 Oliver Bullough, investigative journalist and author on financial crime, discusses how global money laundering operates. He maps techniques from crypto and Tether to luxury watches, vape shops and ghost restaurants. Short, punchy takes cover the role of big currencies, debanking harms, trade-based laundering and why everyday businesses can hide vast illicit flows.
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Criminal Economy Is Vast And Systemic
- Money laundering underpins the world’s worst crimes and is a global parallel financial industry worth $2–5 trillion annually.
- Oliver Bullough argues it supports terrorism, cartels and trafficking by letting criminals convert and spend illicit value.
City Laundering Outscales Visible Fraud Harm
- Large volumes laundered through financial centres like London dwarf direct fraud losses and enable widespread victimization.
- Bullough warns that laundering sustains criminal markets and magnifies harm to vulnerable people.
Criminals Adapt Faster Than Regulations
- Anti-money-laundering rules closed some doors but criminals developed cheaper, alternative value-transfers like Hawala and trade-based methods.
- Cryptocurrencies add another easy, efficient channel, making laundering a selectable menu of techniques.
