The Survey Says It All – Consumers Underestimate Money Laundering

Consilient recently published a report based on a survey of U.S. consumers: Money Laundering: A Misunderstood And Underestimated Problem.

The report found that consumers really don’t understand the enormous extent of money-laundering that takes place every year. But 65% of consumers would consider switching banks if they knew that their banks had been fined for money laundering violations. Respondents predominantly hold the government accountable but believe that financial institutions, police and regulators also play an important role in stopping money-laundering.

Respondents believed that money laundering convictions in the U.S. were much higher than the actual number. 80% of survey respondents believed the number of such convictions greatly exceeded the actual number of just 831 in 2021.

Surprisingly, more than one-in-five (21%) respondents said money-laundering didn’t affect them and was a victimless crime.

People in the industry understand the enormity of the challenges that money laundering presents. That’s why Consilient is on a mission to transform the whole approach using federated artificial intelligence (AI). We did this survey to understand how consumers, who are not “in the industry,” think about money laundering. They are the customers of banks, the voters for government, and the people law enforcement has sworn to protect. We hope you’ll take a few moments to look at the survey results.