Is it money laundering?

[paulwhits]

I am currnetly doing a bit of house remodelling and using the money from my bonus (which I don't get until June!) to pay for it. Basically I have just got a credit card which is interest free for 9 months and I intend to charge materials to the card and then pay it off when my bonus comes through. However as you know, particularly in the building trade, generous discounts can be had for cash. Obviously with the credit card I can't pay cash, and the interest on cash advances is not free, but if I was to buy travellers cheques or foreign currency and then sell it back for cash would I be committing a money laundering offence. I am not talking thousands here, probably about �1500.

[scoobydooby]

Your exchange rate for selling travellers checks or foreign currency wouldn't be as favourable as when you buy them so even if it's legal (which I've no idea about), you'd be wasting money anyway!

[Whickerman]

No, it's finance, and you're buying and selling to get the best deal. What you're talking about is not illegal in any way, so cannot be considered money laundering.

Good idea too!

[Whickerman]

Oh - make sure that the CC company doesn't consider a forex transaction as a cash advance...

[Loosehead]

It's only laundering if you are attempting to make ill gotten funds into legit funds. All you are doing is valid financial transactions.

[NORMANTHEDOG]

the best way would be to buy premium bonds and then cash them in.

[dzug]

TCs and foreign currency count as cash advances on your creiit card so it wouldn't work in the first place.

If it did work I can't see that it would be illegal.

[Postdog]

ditto

[chitchat]

Yep they would count as a cash transaction.