As the international business community grew over the past decades so did the economy. Recent innovations in technology allowed businesses to reach out to the world. Such level of connectivity made globalization a reality. However, this level of growth and connectivity also attracted more of the wrong individuals to the business community. Unscrupulous individuals started putting up legal businesses to serve as fronts for their illegal activities. These individuals use their businesses to camouflage their illegal operations. This is not new in the business community. For decades criminals have been using businesses to hide their operations from the law. The difference is that more and more criminal elements are turning to legal businesses in order to avoid detection by the law. They use their businesses to stay out of reach of the law.

There was a time when criminal elements were limited when it comes to their choice of businesses to use as cover. This made them easier to detect and follow which eventually led to their apprehension. Things are different now; the criminal elements of society have evolved and have become more sophisticated. Their choice of businesses to use as fronts have become more varied making them harder to detect. An import and export business may be used as a front for smuggling operations. It’s easier and safer that way instead of using outsiders to transport their contraband. These criminal elements also use their businesses to move and launder the money. These criminals run their ill gotten wealth which is basically dirty money through a series of businesses and banks. After that they get their money back minus a small percentage which goes to the people involved in the money laundering operations.

Criminal elements make a lot of cash from their illegal operations. These activities may include the transportation and sales of illegal drugs, the transportation and sale of illegal firearms, smuggling of illegal contraband, prostitution, gambling, car theft and a lot more. They use businesses such as clubs and bars to sell drugs and as a front for prostitution operations. A car shop may be used to hide a chop shop operation. These businesses also help cover for their excessive income. Without the use of legal businesses as covers, criminal elements would have a hard time explaining where they got their money. This is how criminal elements conduct their operations and get away with it.

This situation is getting worse by the moment. More and more criminals turn to legal businesses to hide their operations and to keep them safe from the law. The business community has been in this situation for a long time now and there seems to be no solution in sight. The business community should be kept safe from these lawless elements of our society. Law enforcement agencies should find better ways to bring these businesses down faster. These illegal activities must not be allowed to continue. If these illegal activities are allowed to continue to operate, time will come that the business community will lose all credibility. Governments should do everything within their capacity to weed out these businesses that are used as fronts for criminal activities.