NPR

What Is Money-Laundering? And Why Does It Matter To Robert Mueller?

Former Trump campaign head Paul Manafort's ties to overseas money have raised the eyebrows of many, including the man tasked by DOJ with investigating the campaign's connections to Russia.

When Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced he was handing over the reigns of the Justice Department's Russia investigation to a special counsel, he gave Robert Mueller the authority to look into "any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation."

It's become clear in the time since that Mueller intends to use that clause to follow the money.

Former FBI Director Mueller has assembled a team of lawyers, many of whom who specialize in white collar law and financial crimes, leading to speculation he is diving into the finances of those on the inner and outer orbit of the Trump campaign.

"They're looking for ties, they're looking for relationships, and a lot of that will come down to money trails," said Jennifer Rodgers, the executive director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity at Columbia Law School.

And when it comes to chargeable offenses Mueller could be zeroing in on, money-laundering is at the top of the list.

Pop culture phenomena and have provided some education — but many people don't really know what money-laundering is or how it works.

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