- 4/8/16
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I learned an interest in fact the other day from somebody...
Apparently, in most countries in Europe 10 years ago the easiest way to launder money was to buy and sell cars for cash. Because most car dealerships no longer accept even modest amounts of cash as payment for cars plus the new ways of digitally cross-referencing them criminals have moved on to a new way of laundering cash.
I was told that the number one way to launder money nowadays is through high-end watches. In fact, it is probably one of the reasons the secondary market is so liquid when it comes to certain watches. It got me thinking how much of the secondary market is down to marketing and price manipulation by the premier manufacturers (steel Daytona's et cetera).
And how much of the secondary market is held up by money laundering? I was looking at an AP the other day it was brand-new with stickers and everything. But I have seen this watch at three different dealers over the past two years. So it must have been bought and sold many times but never ever used. It was also the sort of watch that is a grail and in demand so I doubt it was just being shuttled between dealers because they couldn't offload it.
Also, secondary/grey dealers are more than happy to accept large chunks of cash for watches.
So, in fact, you could make the assumption that the manufacturer's cartel control of supply and demand is creating the perfect marketplace to launder large amounts of money. Thus, supporting organised crime.
Whereas with replicas, without a doubt, I'm sure there is organised crime in there somewhere but I doubt it's as bad as the organised crime in New York and London...
Apparently, in most countries in Europe 10 years ago the easiest way to launder money was to buy and sell cars for cash. Because most car dealerships no longer accept even modest amounts of cash as payment for cars plus the new ways of digitally cross-referencing them criminals have moved on to a new way of laundering cash.
I was told that the number one way to launder money nowadays is through high-end watches. In fact, it is probably one of the reasons the secondary market is so liquid when it comes to certain watches. It got me thinking how much of the secondary market is down to marketing and price manipulation by the premier manufacturers (steel Daytona's et cetera).
And how much of the secondary market is held up by money laundering? I was looking at an AP the other day it was brand-new with stickers and everything. But I have seen this watch at three different dealers over the past two years. So it must have been bought and sold many times but never ever used. It was also the sort of watch that is a grail and in demand so I doubt it was just being shuttled between dealers because they couldn't offload it.
Also, secondary/grey dealers are more than happy to accept large chunks of cash for watches.
So, in fact, you could make the assumption that the manufacturer's cartel control of supply and demand is creating the perfect marketplace to launder large amounts of money. Thus, supporting organised crime.
Whereas with replicas, without a doubt, I'm sure there is organised crime in there somewhere but I doubt it's as bad as the organised crime in New York and London...