Ok, that's a fair hair to split, but I would also disagree with your more explicit characterization. I think the recent disclosures via the Panama and Paradise Papers demonstrates that the extent and nature of money laundering remains poorly understood by regulators, academics, and the public at large, though perhaps there are insiders (meaning actual money launderers) with deep insight into the activity. We may know a lot about some basic red flags, common motivations for money laundering, common funding sources, which banking markets are grey or black, etc., but that doesn't mean we understand anything about how it is actually being conducted on a day to day basis. If we did, it wouldn't be so pervasive.