Top 20 Best Money Laundering Schemes in Movies

When running a criminal organization, money laundering might seem like the perfect way to get away with illegal activity. However, this can fall apart if the person in charge of covering up your shady schemes just so happens to be an undercover DEA agent. In the over-the-top sequel “Bad Boys II,” Detective Marcus Burnett’s sister, Syd infiltrates Russian mob boss Alexei’s organization, which is in cahoots with drug kingpin Johnny Tapia. Syd ends up being taken hostage by Tapia, but his schemes are soon foiled by Detectives Miles and Mike. He probably wishes he had done a little more research into her past.

Movies about the Mafia often involve money laundering. But they’re usually not as funny as this. In Jon Favreau’s crime comedy, struggling boxer Bobby, played by Favreau, does a favor for mob boss Max involving money laundering. However, he jeopardizes the plan by taking along his unpredictable friend, Ricky. Played by Favreau’s “Swinger” co-star Vince Vaughn, Ricky is basically the last person you'd want around in such a situation. This being a comedy, Bobby and Ricky manage to make it to the end alive and safe, but it might be a different story in another kind of movie.

To take down a criminal, it helps to have someone with firsthand experience with crime to explain the ins and outs. In buddy cop sequel “Lethal Weapon 2,” Detectives Roger Murtaugh and Martin Riggs go after South African diplomats using their diplomatic immunity as a cover for their criminal activity. If that wasn’t stressful enough, they’re also tasked with looking after motormouth federal witness Leo Getz, played by Joe Pesci. However, Leo proves useful to the pair when he uses his own experience with money laundering to explain how it works. Crime might not pay, but it can certainly teach some good lessons.

Stealing isn’t considered a good thing, but circumstances are different when you’re stealing from a thief. In caper comedy “Tower Heist,” billionaire Arthur Shaw enacts a Ponzi scheme that leaves his employees pension-less. So, building manager Josh, played by Ben Stiller, puts together a team so they can get back at Shaw. Upon breaking into his safe, they find nothing. However, they soon realize that Shaw has taken his ill-gotten funds and turned them into literal gold, hiding it in the form of a Ferrari. The authorities get wind of Shaw’s scheme, and he ends up in prison. But it’s still a pretty clever, if totally unethical, plan.

While all of these movie money launderers are participating in illegal activities, most of them are laundering legitimate currency. That’s not the case with Rick Masters, the counterfeiter at the center of William Friedkin’s underrated thriller. Played by Willem Dafoe, Masters is a con artist who lives up to his name, taking dedicated care to make every last one of his bills look as legitimate as possible. And Masters' nefarious ways aren't limited to counterfeiting. However, the Secret Service is on his tail, leading to a literally fiery death. The realism of the counterfeiting was aided by an actual convicted counterfeiter consulting the filmmakers. And some of these bills ended up in circulation. We would love a souvenir from a movie but not like this.

Successfully robbing a bank involves plenty of strategizing. Even if someone manages to evade capture, the authorities can still trace the stolen funds back to them. Toby and Tanner, the criminal brothers at the center of neo-Western “Hell or High Water,” have a pretty good plan. After robbing banks to protect their family ranch from foreclosure, they use a casino to hide their money and how they got it. But, like in many of these movies, law enforcement is hot on their trail. This time, it's in the form of Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton, played by Jeff Bridges. At least they were robbing banks for a good cause?

Professional magicians use sleight-of-hand techniques to trick their audience and make them think they’ve done the impossible. In “Now We See Me,” a group of thieves uses magic as a cover for their audacious heists. They rob wealthy individuals and give the money to their needy audience, in sort of a modern take on “Robin Hood.” Known as the "Four Horsemen," these illusionists also mesmerize the FBI, who are dying to figure out just how they did it. Things get a lot crazier from there, with plenty more trickery along the way. It’s certainly more impressive than pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

New types of money mean new types of money laundering. In the coming-of-age movie “Dope,” California teens Malcolm, Jib, and Diggy inadvertently end up with some drugs that they’re pressured into selling. To protect themselves, they enlist the help of a hacker, who sets them up with a website to sell them via the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Malcolm is later able to use this as leverage for getting into Harvard. “Dope” isn’t a pro-drug-dealing movie, but it does seem to be a pro-Bitcoin one. This was the first movie that allowed Bitcoins to be used for ticket purchases.

Action comedy “American Made” is based on a true story. But it’s the kind of story that sounds more far-fetched than many fictional ones. Tom Cruise plays Barry Seal, a pilot recruited by the CIA as a drug smuggler for a conspiracy you might know as the Iran-Contra Affair. Seal ends up becoming an informant, which leads to further fallout. As a drug courier, Seal needs a way to cover up his ill-gotten funds, so he adds money laundering to his potential rap sheet. Like with many Hollywood versions of real-life stories, “American Made” plays fast and loose with history, but unlike certain actions in this movie, that’s no crime.

Supernatural romance “Ghost” is best remembered for moments like the pottery wheel scene. But a great deal of the film’s plot involves money laundering. After banker Sam Wheat investigates some suspicious financial activity, he's killed and robbed. As it turns out, this wasn't a random killing. His coworker and supposed friend, Carl, is working with a drug dealer and hired the assailant to get ahold of some valuable passwords. To protect his still-living girlfriend, Molly, Sam recruits psychic Oda Mae Brown to help get the money back. We have one word for Carl and his dishonest practices: boo.

Heath Ledger’s Joker is the most prominent criminal in “The Dark Knight,” but he’s not the only one. Also in the mix, though operating under a cover of professional legitimacy, is Lau. As CEO of Hong Kong company Lau Security Investments Holdings, he’s able to funnel illegal funds from his work as a mob boss undetected. With Gotham's Major Crimes Unit cracking down on money laundering, Lau finds a place to hide his illegal income. But he didn't count on a certain Caped Crusader catching him. Thanks to a timely explosion, Lau escapes from custody along with the Joker. But it's not long before Lau, and his money, are both gone.

Another Tom Cruise movie involving money laundering is the legal thriller “The Firm,” based on the novel by John Grisham. Cruise plays Mitch McDeere, an ambitious young lawyer who is hired by a prestigious law firm, where he’s mentored by Gene Hackman’s Avery Tolar. However, this firm doesn't just defend criminals; it's also run by them. Among their many crimes are money laundering, tax evasion, and murder, with Mitch himself soon becoming a target. The firm is taken down thanks to Mitch's whistleblowing, and he's hopefully able to find a workplace with a little less excitement.

The heroes in the “Fast and Furious” movies commit more than their share of crimes. But they’re also doing their part to stop the real bad guys. In the turbo-charged sequel “Fast Five, Dom, Mia, and Brian hide out in Rio de Janeiro. In a car stolen from crime boss Hernan Reyes, they find a computer chip documenting his shady financial dealings, including where a smorgasbord of cash is located. Soon, Reyes is after the chip, and the trio is after his money. A crew of old friends is formed for this job, and law enforcement officials Luke Hobbs and Elena Neves join them as well. Is there anything more exciting than a car chase where a giant vault is dragged?

Michael Mann’s “Heat” is one of the best heist movies of all time. And it’s helped immensely by the crafty crooks at its center. After stealing $1.6 million worth of bearer bonds, thief Neil McCauley is advised to sell them back. That might sound like a pretty misguided suggestion, until you realize the person they stole from, Roger Van Zant, is a money launderer. Of course, you can't trust a criminal at his word, and Van Zant double-crosses McCauley and his crew. They’re ready for this possibility and stop Van Zant’s ambush. McCauley later exacts his revenge on Van Zant. How’s that for payback?

Would you ever believe an ingredient in your pantry could be part of a criminal conspiracy? In sequel/prequel “The Godfather Part II,” we see how a young Vito Corleone rose to the top of the criminal world. Like many a mafioso, Corleone uses a legitimate business to cover his crimes. In this case, it’s an olive oil importer. In the film’s present, son and new boss Michael wants the family business to go straight, without all that pesky criminal activity. But his family’s history is too big for him to transcend. Once a Corleone, always a Corleone.

Tony Montana is the perfect example of a movie character who literally goes mad with power and brings about his own downfall. The Miami drug kingpin uses a banker to help him launder his money, which is a pretty smart move. However, his banker has his limits. He tells Tony that he'll need to charge more in order to keep laundering his money, which Tony, being Tony, doesn't take as good advice. So, Tony seeks the help of another launderer, Seidelbaum. How does that go? Well, Seidelbaum happens to be an undercover cop. So, we'll say, "not great."

Wall Street fraudster Jordan Belfort used illegal tactics to bilk people out of their money and make millions. In Martin Scorsese’s comic biopic, based on Belfort’s memoir, we see these shady schemes in action. To hide his money and ward off attention from the FBI, Belfort has it smuggled into a Swiss bank account. How does he do that? Oh, just having associates fly into Switzerland with bands of cash taped to their bodies. That might seem far-fetched, but just remember, in those pre-TSA days, it was certainly a lot easier to smuggle things overseas.

“The Wolf of Wall Street” wasn’t the first time Leonardo DiCaprio played a charismatic con artist. In Steven Spielberg’s “Catch Me If You Can,” DiCaprio plays Frank Abagnale, who performs a slew of frauds. In order to make money, Frank literally makes money. He pretends to be a pilot and counterfeits checks from Pan Am that are good enough to fool bank tellers, as well as pique the FBI’s curiosity. That's not the only con Frank pulls off, but it's one of his most impressive. Oh, and spoiler alert: they do end up catching him.

The role of the Mafia in Las Vegas and its casino industry is not a minor one. In Martin Scorsese's "Casino," we see how two mobsters played this crime game. Mobster Ace Rothstein is made to head the Tangiers Casino, with his friend Nicky Santoro acting as the enforcer. It soon becomes plainly obvious that this casino isn't just a casino, and the FBI is taking a special interest in it. While it might seem foolproof to launder money in a cash-based business like a casino, you should never underestimate the power of the feds.

Early in his prison sentence, inmate Andy Dufresne gets a job in the prison laundry. Later in the movie, he does a different kind of laundering. An experienced banker, Andy is hired by the warden to help him with a scheme where he uses prison labors to win public project contracts, with Andy laundering the money under the alias "Randall Stephens." But the selfish warden only cares about Andy as a tool, not a human. When Andy reveals information that could get him exonerated, Norton tries to put him through hell. However, Andy's hope is too strong, and he ends up free and wealthy, while Norton's life ends up in shambles.