Why Money Launderers Love $100 Bills

Despite the decline of everyday cash use, the amount of physical currency in circulation — especially $100 bills — keeps growing. The explanation, as journalist Oliver Bullough argues, is the global money laundering economy. This episode explores the 'cash paradox,' a parallel financial system built on bulky U.S. dollars, and the mechanics cartels use to balance their books, including trading drugs for farm equipment. Bullough explains why these laundering structures echo the earliest forms of banking from the Renaissance.