What is TBML?
What is Trade-Based Money Laundering (TBML)?
Trade-Based Money Laundering (TBML) is the process of disguising criminal proceeds by moving value through trade transactions. Criminals manipulate invoices, shipping documents, or trade routes to make illicit money appear legitimate — all under the cover of real or fake global commerce. FATF defines TBML as:
“The process of disguising the proceeds of crime and moving value through trade transactions to legitimize their illicit origins.”
How it Works
Instead of smuggling cash or wiring money, TBML allows criminals to shift value across borders through seemingly legal trade. Some common techniques include:
Over or under Invoicing
Declaring fake prices to shift value
Phantom
shipments
Invoices with no actual goods
Mislabelled
goods
Cheap items disguised as luxury products
Multiple
invoicing
Getting paid several times for the same shipment
These methods make criminal profits look like legitimate trade revenue.
Why It's Used
TBML is attractive to criminals because:
- It blends into the trillions of dollars in legitimate global trade.
- It avoids cash, which is easier to trace.
- It exploits gaps between customs, banking, and law enforcement systems.
It’s been used to launder money from drug cartels, human trafficking rings, terrorist networks, and corrupt officials.