The definitions are crime-based: In US law it is the practice of engaging in financial transactions to conceal the identity, source, or destination of illegall

The definitions are crime-based: In US law it is the practice of engaging in financial transactions to conceal the identity, source, or destination of illegally gained money. In UK law the common law definition is wider. The act is defined as "taking any action with property of any form which is either wholly or in part the proceeds of a crime that will disguise the fact that that property is the proceeds of a crime or obscure the beneficial ownership of said property".