Origin of the Term Money Laundering

According to Answers.com, the term of "money laundering" does not derive, as is often said, from the often repeated story that Al Capone used laundromats to hide ill-gotten gains from the sale of then-illegal alcohol. It was Meyer Lansky that perfected money laundering's older brother, "capital flight", by transferring his funds to Switzerland and other offshore places. The first reference to the term "money laundering" itself actually appears during the Watergate scandal. US President Richard Nixon's "Committee to Re-Elect The President" moved illegal campaign contributions to Mexico, then brought the money back through a company in Miami. It was Britain's Guardian newspaper that coined the term, referring to the process as "laundering."