How Money Laundering Actually Works | How Crime Works | Insider

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Published 2023-08-07
Robert Mazur is a former government agent who investigated drug-money laundering for the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service intelligence division, and the Customs Service. While deep undercover in hot spots such as Florida, Colombia, and Panama, Mazur successfully infiltrated criminal rings and cartels, including Pablo Escobar's, by posing as a wealthy, mob-connected businessman. He helped manage the illicit fortunes of the Medellín and Cali cartels while gathering evidence that would lead to some of the largest money-laundering prosecutions in history.

He speaks to Insider about how the cartels layer their assets, and move money via “smurfs”. He also covers the use of legitimate businesses, such as jewellery chains and mortgage brokerage companies.

Mazur is the author of "The Infiltrator," which became a New York Times bestseller and inspired a 2016 film of the same title, starring Bryan Cranston (as Mazur) and John Leguizamo. Cranston is set to play Mazur again in the sequel currently in development, which is based on Mazur' second memoir, "The Betrayal.” Today, Mazur speaks and consults around the world through his company, KYC Solutions.

For more information about Mazur's speaking, expert witness, and consulting services, visit:
www.robertmazur.com/

Read his latest memoir, "The Betrayal," about his second undercover operation on the inside of the Cali cartel:
www.amazon.com/Betrayal-Story-Brush-Narcos-Launder…

Read his first memoir, "The Infiltrator," about his time investigating the Medellín cartel:
www.amazon.com/Infiltrator-Against-Biggest-Cartel-…

00:00- Introduction
00:48 - Chapter 1 | Creating the Persona
01:59 - Chapter 2 | Meeting the Cartel
03:27 - Chapter 3 | The Market
05:13 - Chapter 4 | Collecting the Cash
07:15 - Chapter 5 | Making Payments
09:43 - Chapter 6 | The Surveillance
12:17 - Chapter 7 | The Banks
15:13- Chapter 8 | The Middlemen
16:20 - Chapter 9 | Breaking Cover
17:57- Chapter 10 | The Aftermath
19:39- Chapter 11 | The Future of Dirty Money

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How Money Laundering Actually Works | How Crime Works | Insider

How Money Laundering Actually Works | How Crime Works | Insider

All Comments (21)
  • @crypto_que
    He held himself accountable for being no better than the criminals. Big up to him for keeping it real.
  • @redlion145
    "I want a government with conscience. I don't want people high-fiving." When dealing with something like the cartels, and all the suffering that comes from their activities, I think that is absolutely the correct attitude to have.
  • @casedistorted
    Respect to this man. I think he’s the type of person we want in law enforcement and government. Sadly, most do not have his level of integrity.
  • "I want a government with conscience. I don't want people high-fiving." Massive respect to this man.
  • @MrMegaManFan
    "Yeah I was addicted - but I was addicted to information." So smart. No wonder the cartels got burned by him. He never let lust for money become more tempting to him than his desire to undermine their operation.
  • Love the honesty, humility and integrity. This is what a hero looks like. All he got was pain in return. That's unfair.
  • @gary.richardson
    "I want a government with a conscience. I don't want people high fiving." That statement goes deeper than some realize.
  • We need a movie of some of his undercover operations, just based off of how he described it in such detail had me excited
  • @Ryan_McGee
    Saul Goodman taught me all I needed to know about money laundering.
  • @yassirb5103
    Wow, this guy is a soldier to look into the eyes of those criminals and families in court after what he did to them is admirable, it's unimaginable the number of high-stress situations he must have been in with dozens of people constantly off drugs and carrying weapons where any slip-up, fumble, or poor choice of words could easily be misread and lead to dangerous consequences. However, he is very articulate in English so I assume he carried that on through his undercover persona when he spoke to the narcos and launderers in Spanish making it all the more impressive.
  • @felixvergara5627
    A real life hero YET the fact that after all of his effort, agencies have NOT come together to form the "anti money laundering" task force he talks about at the end MUST feel like a slap on the face since NOT only is he in danger but his family members as well...
  • @georgehelliar
    Thats a mad story. 80-odd arrests, helping to bring down BCCI, then going undercover again... Your best video in this series
  • @elpana3752
    When the average person commits fraud, it's a crime... When the Banks commit fraud, it's business as usual...
  • @TomCruz54321
    This guy is a hero. Risking his life to take on powerful criminals that many public officials won’t dare to touch. ❤
  • @theylied1776
    I used to work in and around commercial, retail, industrial, and residential real estate. Real Estate is the #1 target for money laundering. One of the first property management companies that I had as a client, one of the Managing Partners, a real estate agent who was also a lawyer, asked me a lot of questions about two of their properties. She noticed that there was a lot of work that was being invoiced, millions, that was not being done. She dropped those properties like they were made of lava.
  • @jamiebray8532
    What he did is devious for a good outcome. But the fact he is humble. We need more like him in law enforcement.
  • @TheAmericanIdol
    Major props to this guy. Must be made of steel, his experience is wild af.
  • I like how he said he never showed fear, because similar dogs, it would be sniffed out and taken advantage of