The purpose of this study is to review the literature on money laundering and its related areas. The main objective is to identify any gaps in the literature and direct attention towards addressing them.,A systematic review of the money laundering literature was conducted with an emphasis on the Pro-Quest, Scopus and Science-Direct databases. Broad research themes were identified after investigating the literature. The theme about the detection of money laundering was then further investigated. The major approaches of such detection are identified, as well as research gaps that could be addressed in future studies.,The literature on money laundering can be classified into the following six broad areas: anti-money laundering framework and its effectiveness, the effect of money laundering on other fields and the economy, the role of actors and their relative importance, the magnitude of money laundering, new opportunities available for money laundering and detection of money laundering. Most studies about the detection of money laundering have focused on the use of innovative technologies, banking transactions or real estate- and trade-based money laundering. However, the literature on the detection of shell companies being explicitly used to launder funds is relatively scarce.,This paper provides insights into an area related to money laundering where research is relatively scant. Shell companies incorporated in the UK alone were identified to be associated with laundering £80bn of stolen money between 2010 and 2014. The use of these entities to launder billions of dollars as witnessed through the laundromat schemes and several data leaks clearly indicate the need to focus on illicit financial flows through such entities.

中文翻译：

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洗钱文献综述：关键领域的研究现状

本研究的目的是回顾有关洗钱及其相关领域的文献。主要目的是查明文献中的任何空白并直接关注解决这些空白。对洗钱文献进行了系统的审查，重点是Pro-Quest，Scopus和Science-Direct数据库。在研究文献之后，确定了广泛的研究主题。然后进一步研究了关于洗钱的侦查主题。确定了这种检测的主要方法，以及可以在未来研究中解决的研究空白。关于洗钱的文献可分为以下六个主要领域：反洗钱框架及其有效性，反洗钱的效果。其他领域和经济上的洗钱活动，行为者的角色及其相对重要性，洗钱的规模，洗钱的新机会以及洗钱的侦查。关于洗钱检测的大多数研究都集中在使用创新技术，银行交易或基于房地产和贸易的洗钱方面。但是，关于专门用于洗钱的空壳公司的检测的文献相对较少。本文提供了对与洗钱有关的领域的见解，而该领域的研究相对较少。在2010年至2014年之间，仅在英国注册成立的壳牌公司就与800亿英镑的赃款洗钱有关。