Is the TF2 economy being used by Russian criminals to launder money?

As you may (or may not) know, Valve’s free-to-play shooter Team Fortress 2 has a thriving economy behind all those piles of hats, fuelled solely by the sale of items from the in-game Mann Co. store. It’s actually quite complex, and surprisingly vast – millions of dollars worth of items exist in player backpacks, and the most wealthy players can have tens of thousands of dollars sitting in their backpacks in hat form.

This economy also (conveniently) allows Russian criminals to launder money, much like you’d see in a low-budget ‘60s noir flick — except a lot less exciting.