What works in policing money laundering?

Purpose This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of literature on policing money laundering to evaluate the quality of evidence presented in academic and grey literature. In doing so, this paper reflects upon what strategies and mechanisms work in preventing, detecting and disrupting money laundering. Design/methodology/approach To investigate the quality of evidence presented in academic and grey literature on money laundering, the authors have conducted a structured literature review of over 1,000 sources. The authors have then evaluated the quality of evidence of these sources by using three distinct methods, namely, the Maryland scale, research excellence framework and quality of empirical evidence framework. Findings This paper finds a large number of studies on money laundering meeting the highest academic quality standard. However, only a very small number of those studies include empirical evidence that policing measures actually work with no study able to demonstrate a correlation between money laundering measures and risk factors at any point in time. Originality/value This paper provides practical and theoretical insights into what works in money laundering and the role of scientific evaluations. It is particularly relevant for the successful implementation of anti-money laundering policy measures, including, for example, the UK’s Economic Crime Plan 2023–2026, which aspires to measure the progress and impact of policing in this area.