Stamler R T, Fahlman R C
Bull Narc. 1983 Apr-Jun;35(2):61-70.
Massive funds that are produced from street-level crime are laundered upwards into the criminal organizations for the benefit of their top-level members. The laundering systems used to distribute the proceeds of crime are designed to conceal the size of the organization as well as the identity of its members. Crime syndicates are attracted to criminal activity that produces the highest profits with the lowest risks. Although organized crime syndicates derive profits from a wide variety of criminal activity, their most sought after ventures principally involve the consensual type of crimes, such as drug trafficking, where no one individual can be readily identified as a legal victim for the purpose of recovering the proceeds of a criminal act. A recent survey indicated that illicit drug trafficking accounted for 87 per cent of the cash flow generated from organized crime. When the proceeds are disbursed, the criminals are free of the usual civil liability respecting the ownership of the proceeds. Canada currently has several laws which enhance the ability of law-enforcement authorities to trace the proceeds of crime and prosecute those who possess the assets. This legislation has some limitations with respect to seizure and forfeiture of certain types of proceeds. For example, forfeiture of the illegally acquired property is difficult when there is no original legal owner to initiate legal action, and even more difficult if the assets are located abroad.
街头犯罪产生的巨额资金被向上洗钱进入犯罪组织，以造福其高层成员。用于分配犯罪所得的洗钱系统旨在隐瞒组织规模及其成员身份。犯罪集团被能以最低风险获取最高利润的犯罪活动所吸引。虽然有组织犯罪集团从各种各样的犯罪活动中获利，但其最热衷的冒险活动主要涉及双方自愿的犯罪类型，如贩毒，因为在这种犯罪中，没有人能轻易被确定为合法受害者，以便追回犯罪行为的所得。最近一项调查表明，非法贩毒占有组织犯罪产生的现金流的87%。当犯罪所得被支付时，犯罪分子无需承担关于所得所有权的通常民事责任。加拿大目前有几部法律增强了执法当局追踪犯罪所得并起诉持有这些资产者的能力。这项立法在某些类型所得的扣押和没收方面有一些局限性。例如，当没有原始合法所有者提起法律诉讼时，没收非法获取的财产很困难，如果资产位于国外则更难。
