"Lazy Susans: A Study on Round Tripping" is a deeply analytical and research-driven guide crafted for financial crime professionals, compliance officers, investigators, auditors, policy analysts, and learners engaged in anti-money laundering (AML) and cross-border financial risk analysis. This work examines one of the most elusive and damaging typologies in illicit finance: round tripping—a method of cycling funds across borders or entities to disguise their origins and falsely present them as legitimate income or foreign investment.

Using the metaphor of a Lazy Susan—a rotating tray that spins items in a circle—this guide unpacks how illicit capital mimics this movement, going offshore only to return to its origin cloaked as legitimate funds. The document systematically dissects the mechanisms, use cases, and sector-specific vulnerabilities exploited in round-tripping schemes.

Spanning critical financial infrastructures such as export-import firms, trusts, charities, real estate investments, SPVs, shell companies, investment funds, private equity structures, digital currencies, and MSBs, the book presents a wide-ranging view of how round tripping infiltrates both traditional and emerging financial ecosystems. It also details how legitimate instruments—like trade invoices, fund flows, crypto wallets, or endowments—are misused to enable fictitious transactions, cross-border layering, and regulatory arbitrage.

Through richly contextualized case studies, structured typology breakdowns, and global best practices, this guide offers clarity into red flags, detection barriers, and institutional blind spots. It also emphasizes international cooperation, data-sharing frameworks, legislative harmonization, and public-private partnerships as crucial levers in combating round-tripping risks.

Whether used as a forensic reference, strategic policy document, or investigative training manual, "Lazy Susans" offers a rare and detailed look into one of the most complex, yet under-acknowledged, financial crime methodologies undermining the integrity of global banking systems.

Note: This book has been compiled using AI tools, public domain research, and reference materials to ensure accuracy, depth, and practical relevance.