Al Capone, like other mafiosos of his time, accumulated enormous profits from illegal activities (smuggling alcohol, gambling, prostitution). The problem was that he could not justify those earnings to the government without raising suspicions. His solution was to mix illicit money with legitimate income, using seemingly legal businesses like laundries.
🔎 Why laundries?
They were cash businesses, which made it easier to introduce large amounts of money without raising too many alarms.
They had a steady flow of customers, which made it believable that there were daily earnings.
Al Capone set very low prices, which suggested that he was not seeking real profits from the business, but rather a facade to justify income.
📌 Key concept
This is where the term “money laundering” comes from:
“Dirty” → money coming from illegal activities.
“Laundering” → the process of making it seem legitimate by mixing it with legal income.
Today, money laundering is done with more sophisticated methods:
Shell companies.
International transfers.
Cryptocurrencies.
Real estate and artwork.
