OSINT Workflows for Tackling Money Laundering

Money laundering is the process of disguising the origins of illicit funds so they appear legitimate. It is one of the most enduring aspects of organized crime, underpinning corruption, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and fraud. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that between two and five percent of global GDP is laundered each year, representing trillions of dollars in hidden wealth.

The challenge for investigators is that laundering tactics are constantly changing. Teams cannot always keep up with fast-moving schemes that span multiple industries and borders. Open-source intelligence, the calculated use of relevant publicly available information, means investigators can identify critical patterns, corroborate suspicious activity, and augment decision-making based on digital evidence.

Why OSINT Matters in Anti-Money Laundering

OSINT gives investigators the ability to see relevant digital content. Public data from company registries, property records, court filings, and even news articles often contain vital clues about illicit activity.

The benefits include:

• Earlier detection of risk: OSINT surfaces red flags 
• Cross-border visibility: Public data helps bridge gaps across jurisdictional boundaries
• Context and corroboration: Lifestyle and ownership details can complement transactional data

Common Laundering Typologies

While criminals constantly adapt, most laundering still fits into well-known patterns. Recognizing these typologies helps investigators know what to look for.

• Money mule networks
• Cash-based laundering
• Shell companies and offshore structures
• Corporate structures and trusts
• Crypto asset laundering
• Trade-based laundering
• Informal Value Transfer Systems (IVTS)
• Community lending circles
• Property-based laundering

Each typology may look different in practice, but OSINT helps reveal the connections, signals, and inconsistencies that bring the true picture into focus.

How OSINT Strengthens Investigations

A strong OSINT approach gives investigators a repeatable framework for tackling laundering cases:

• Starting with a trigger: A suspicious transaction or an unusual business pattern.
• Building a clear picture: OSINT helps evaluate a high-risk entity and assets.
• Connecting the dots: Visualizing networks and relationships helps identify links between shell companies, properties, or individuals.

This structured way of working reduces blind spots and ensures consistency across cases.

From Intelligence to Action

The ultimate value of OSINT is its ability to drive defensible action. A clear, well-documented report can support a range of outcomes: filing a Suspicious Activity Report, freezing an account, seizing assets, or escalating to law enforcement.

Effective reporting is structured, transparent about sources, and objective in tone. It allows decision-makers to act confidently, knowing the findings are based on verifiable public data.

Strengthening the Fight Against Financial Crime

Money laundering adapts, but so can investigators. OSINT empowers teams to detect laundering earlier, reveal hidden connections, and take timely action. By combining typology awareness with structured workflows and public data, investigators can better protect institutions and economies from the damage of illicit finance.

OSINT is not about replacing existing processes, but about strengthening them to ensure that even in a world of increasingly sophisticated laundering, nothing important slips through the cracks.