Economy & Money Laundering
In CORP//LLM everything revolves around money — but not every dollar is worth the same. You need to understand how Dirty Cash and Clean Cash work to build your empire.
Dirty Cash vs. Clean Cash
All illegal income lands as Dirty Cash in your account. The problem: many important expenses only accept Clean Cash:
- Buying real estate
- Paying high salaries
- Bribing institutions
- Campaign donations
- Public apologies
Dirty Cash works for the black market, weapon purchases, and small street-level bribes. But to truly grow, you need a way to launder your money.
The PLI Model
Money laundering in CORP//LLM follows the real-world three-stage model: Placement, Layering, and Integration.
1. Placement — Getting the money to a Shell Company
Dirty Cash must be physically transported to one of your shell companies. Several transport methods are available:
| Transport | Capacity | Interception Risk | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foot Courier | $500 | Very High | Low |
| Motorcycle | $2,000 | High | Low |
| Car | $5,000 | Medium | Medium |
| Van | $20,000 | Medium | Medium |
| Boat | $15,000 | Low | High |
| Drone | $8,000 | Low–Medium | High |
| Truck | $100,000 | High | Very High |
The more you transport at once, the greater the temptation — but also the risk of interception.
2. Layering — Shell Companies wash the money
Shell companies are front businesses that run Dirty Cash through their books. There are three tiers:
| Shell Type | Setup Cost | Daily Cap | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiosk | $1,500 | $600/day | 25% |
| Mid-Tier | $4,000 | $2,000/day | 20% |
| Corporate Shell | $10,000 | $6,000/day | 15% |
Synergies: When the illegal income source matches the shell company (e.g. drug trade + pharmacy kiosk), throughput increases by +60%.
3. Integration — Clean money
Once the money has passed through the layering process and the next Big Tick occurs, it officially becomes Clean Cash. From now on you can use it for all legal expenses.
Audit Risk
More shell companies mean more laundering capacity — but also a higher audit risk. Authorities take notice.
- Laundering more than $150,000 per day automatically triggers federal_heat
- Every additional shell company increases the probability of an audit
Balance capacity with caution.
Buildings
Renting or Buying
You can rent buildings (daily fee in Clean Cash) or buy them (one-time payment: 30–50× the daily rent).
Ownership brings tangible advantages:
| Benefit | Effect |
|---|---|
| Defense Bonus | +20 Defense |
| Upgrade Slot | +1 additional slot |
| Income Bonus | +15% income |
| Laundering Cap | +20% higher laundering limit |
Prices are dynamic and depend on the sector’s wealth and local heat. In hot areas you pay more.
Sabotage
Enemies can sabotage your buildings causing a 1–3 day lockout:
- Arson (ARSON): Requires incendiary devices ($3,000)
- Bomb (BOMB): Requires explosives ($8,000)
Rebuilding costs 40% of purchase price and takes 2 cycles.
Drones
Drone Hubs provide passive income through cybercrime.
- Each hub has 3 slots (upgradeable to 6)
- Each drone generates $800 per day in passive cybercrime income
- Opponents can disrupt your drones with INTERCEPT or signal jamming
Portfolio Risk
From 6 or more assets, your portfolio automatically generates audit risk and federal_heat. This is the natural brake on unlimited growth — you can’t just buy everything without attracting attention.
Think carefully about which assets to hold and which to offload.
Season End
At the end of every season, all buildings are automatically liquidated — you receive 80% of the purchase price back. Nobody takes their property into the next round.