MONEY LAUNDERING IN OUTER SPACE? NOT A BLOODY THEORY, BUT APPARENTLY ALREADY A FACT

When I was approached recently, to give an interview about the present existence of money laundering in the skies above, and eventually even in outer space, I had to once again put on my practising laundryman hat, and mull over the possibility that such operations are, not just theoretically, but already here to stay. While others may think this a flight of fancy, reality is much more jarring than you think. It's here already, and it's not anything out of Star Wars, or even Buck Rogers. think money laundering in the aerospace industry.

Remember, there are hundreds of commercial satellites, experimental objects, military and intelligence collection devices, not to mention the budding space travel and private aviation companies, all flying into, through, around and above our atmosphere, and even outside it. Those airborne objects must be transported aloft, in many cases by private companies, or in joint ventures between governments and the private sector. The commercial satellites, most of which are the private property of multinational corporations, and often provide an ongoing and valuable communication (or other) service, which is charged to the users, directly or indirectly. Are you starting to get the picture now?

Always remember that an astute money launderer can take ANY industry and pervert it to meet his client's needs. He can use any type of legitimate enterprise to clean dirty cash, and we understand that the aerospace sector is already infiltrated by career money launderers. They may have even graduated to controlling certain cash-poor and needy startup companies, or be placing drug profits into such businesses, only to draw out purported profits, with impunity. How many FBI Special Agents have advanced degrees in the sciences, so that they might be able to understand the technology behind a balance sheet of  a multinational aerospace corporation?

In the dark world of the money launderer, every business represents a Target of opportunity, and the laundrymen's grasp is only limited by his (or her) imagination. Think about it.

PS. There are plans for a conference, in 2025, which will cover crime in the skies above us. Watch for it.