Online games are new choice for money laundering

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games like 'Second Life' offer a nearly foolproof way to mask and move money

By Doug Tsuruoka
Investor's Business Daily

Colombian drug lords and other bad guys have found a new way to launder money: via online "virtual world" games that have thousands of players worldwide.

"Drug cartels are having great success laundering money and buying property in scores of different nations by using Internet games," said Misha Glenny, who tracks organized crime and wrote the 2008 book, "McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld."

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games like 'Second Life' offer a nearly foolproof way to mask and move money.

Observers say massively multiplayer online role-playing games offer a nearly foolproof way to mask and move money from drug and other criminal activities.

MMORPGs use virtual money or credits that players can exchange for real currency.