Samenvatting

Offshore companies play a substantial role in the laundering of dirty money, especially in bigger cases. This article reflects on the definition of offshore companies and analyses several cases of money laundering through these often complicated financial business structures. The lack of knowledge on offshore money laundering practices hampers criminal investigation worldwide. Improving the registration of cases and sharing knowledge internationally would help to develop better prevention measures and to detect money laundering through offshore companies. The author also provides a list of risk indicators signalizing possible abuse of offshore companies.