‘Whoever hides an object derived from one of the unlawful acts referred to in sentence 2, conceals its origin, or obstructs or endangers the investigation of its origin, its being found, its confiscation or its being secured incurs a penalty of imprisonment for a term of between three months and five years.’

Exploring the aforementioned Article of the Criminal Code, we can conclude that in Germany money laundering is: the act of hiding an object, derived from one of the unlawful acts, concealing its origin, or obstructing or endangering the investigation of its origin and the possibility for its finding, security and confiscation.

• Definition of money laundering in France

The French definition of money laundering is set out in the French Criminal Code.

According to Art. 324, Para 1 of the French Criminal Code:
‘Money laundering is facilitating by any means the false justification of the origin of the property or income of the perpetrator of a felony or misdemeanour which has brought him a direct or indirect benefit. Money laundering also comprises assistance in investing, concealing or converting the direct or indirect products of a felony or misdemeanour.’

• Definition of money laundering in Italy

The definition of money laundering is provided for in Art. 648 of the Italian Criminal Code (ICC), which incriminate the actions of anybody who ‘with knowledge and intent, substitutes or transfers money, goods or other things of value deriving from an intentional crime or carries out, in relation to that benefit, any transactions in such a way as to obstruct the identification of
their criminal provenance.’

Thus, we can conclude that the Italian definition of money laundering is: informed and intentional substitution or transfer of money, goods or other things of value deriving from an intentional crime or carrying out for benefit any transactions in such a way as to obstruct the identification of the criminal provenance.

• Definition of money laundering in England

The English definition of money laundering in England is given by the Financial Intelligence Unit for National Instant Criminal Background Check System, London, and it states that:

‘Money-laundering is a processing of proceeds of crime where criminals try to disguise their illegal origin. Once such process is successfully carried out (the proceeds are “laundered”), criminals can use these monies legitimately without revealing their original source.’

• Definition of money laundering in Austria

Money laundering in Austria is defined under Art. 165 of the Austrian Criminal Code (StGB).

The definition is, as follows:

‘Money laundering § 165.

(1) Anyone who conceals or hides any part of his or her assets that result from an act threatened with more than a year in prison or an offense pursuant to Sections 223, 229, 289, 293, 295 or Sections 27 or 30 of the Narcotics Act, Veiled origin, in particular by providing false information in legal transactions regarding the origin or the true nature of these property components, the
property or other rights to them, the power of disposal over them, their transfer or where they are located, is imprisoned punishable to three years.

(2) Anyone who knowingly acquires, stores, invests, manages, converts, exploits or transfers to a third party that knowingly comes from an act of another specified in paragraph 1 shall also be punished.

(3) Also punishable are those who knowingly bring assets of a criminal organization (Section 278a) or a terrorist organization (Section 278b) that are subject to, on their behalf or in their interest, safekeeped, invested, managed, converted, exploited or to a third party transmits.

According to Art. 165, Para 5 of the Criminal Code: ‘A component of property arises from a criminal act if the perpetrator of the criminal act has obtained it through the act or received it for its inspection, or if it embodies the value of the asset originally acquired or received.’