A systematic literature review of money mule: its roles, recruitment and awareness

Purpose This paper aims to provide a systematic literature review (SLR) on contemporary cardinal money mule issues. Design/methodology/approach This paper reviews the most common money mule themes in perpetrating financial crime activities, especially its roles, recruitment and awareness. A systematic review protocol called preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols is adopted for this study. Findings Money mules are used by organized criminal groups (OCG) or fraudster to launder illicit funds from outrageous criminal activities. They allow their accounts to be used for money laundering by OCG. The attacker, OCG or fraudsters would layer the stolen funds using money mule accounts. These money mules are recruited using various approaches, oftentimes deceived by opulent lifestyles to captivate the interest of potential money mules. Originality/value This paper presents money mule awareness needed by accountant, bank employees and the society. It is an unprecedented SLR on money mule. This paper will be beneficial for future money mule researchers, enforcement agencies and practitioners in banking industry.