Definition

1. Noun:
   • Illegally obtained money or goods: "Dirty money" refers to funds or valuable items acquired through unlawful activities, such as crime, corruption, or fraud. This term emphasizes the illicit origin of the assets.

Usage

• The term "dirty money" is primarily used in legal, journalistic, and financial contexts to discuss the proceeds of crime and the challenges of money laundering.
• It functions as a compound noun. The adjective "dirty" metaphorically describes the money as tainted or unclean due to its illegal source.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The police seized a suitcase full of dirty money from the drug cartel.
  • Banks have strict regulations to prevent the laundering of dirty money.
  • The politician was accused of accepting dirty money from corrupt contractors.

Advanced Usage

• "To launder dirty money": This is a common collocation describing the process of making illegally obtained money appear legitimate by passing it through a complex sequence of banking transfers or commercial transactions.
  • The criminal organization used shell companies to launder its dirty money.

Variants and Related Words

• Ill-gotten gains (noun phrase): A formal or literary synonym for money or profit acquired dishonestly or illegally.
• Proceeds of crime (noun phrase): The legal and formal term for money or property derived from criminal activity.
• Black money (noun): Similar to "dirty money," often used in contexts of tax evasion or undeclared income.

Synonyms

• Illicit funds: Money obtained through illegal means.
• Hot money: Informal term for money that is illegally acquired or moved quickly between financial systems to avoid detection.

Related Phrases

• Money laundering (noun): The process of concealing the origin of illegally obtained money.
  • He was convicted for his role in an international money laundering scheme.
• Clean money (noun): The opposite term, referring to money obtained through legal means.

Noun

1. goods or money obtained illegally