Lessons from Venezuela’s illicit gold trade applicable to IFFs more widely says Brookings
Difficulties associated with tracing illicit gold flows and the large number of actors involved in gold smuggling have contributed to a crisis with limited chances to even engage in efforts to address the issue of illicit financial flows (IFFs) from the production and trade of…
Global Forum reports on African plans and progress to stem IFFs
A lack of transparency facilitates all types of illicit financial flows (IFFs) in Africa, including money laundering and terrorism financing, corruption as well as tax evasion according to a new report published by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes….
EU-UN study suggests sanctions for Eastern European banks for SARs and customer identification failures
Illicit financial flows (IFFs) in the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) region, can be estimated at around €29 billion (US$31 billion) every year according to a new study released by the EU and the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute. One of its recommendations to…
Financial institutions’ critical role in combatting wildlife trafficking outlined in new FinCEN report
The US treasury department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has released a Financial Threat Analysis on wildlife trafficking threat patterns and trend information identified in Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) data. The report aims to further inform efforts to combat wildlife trafficking and the associated movement…
Reintroduce international banks in the oil and gas commodity trade to reduce illicit financial flows says OECD report
Reintroducing large commercial banks into the oil and gas commodity trade could be a way to reduce the volume of illicit financial flows (IFFs) out of resource-rich developing countries according to a new report published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The…
Targeting IFFs would make wildlife and environmental crimes high-risk, low profit undertakings, CITE’s chief tells FATF conference
Engaging in partnerships to bring together expertise in wildlife trade and money laundering is absolutely necessary to curb illicit financial flows (IFFs) associated with wildlife and other environmental crimes according to the secretary-general of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna…
TBML links in major national security and corruption threats presented by opaque US private investment firms
The US$11 trillion US private investment industry presents major national security and corruption threats and represents a gaping hole in the country’s anti-money laundering (AML) framework according to a joint report released yesterday by the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition, Global Financial Integrity…
Mbeki continues campaign against trade-based financial crime, calls on ALSF to focus more on IFFs
“The African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) must assist African countries to negotiate fair and balanced contracts to eliminate opportunities for illicit receipt, use, or transfer of funds,” says former president of South Africa and current chair of the African Union’s High-level Panel on Illicit Financial…
TBML and FTZs allowing IFFs to proliferate across Latin America
Trade-based money laundering (TBML) and free-trade zones (FTZs) are amongst the mechanisms that allow for illicit financial flows (IFFs) to proliferate across Latin America the UK government has said in a recently issued tender. It calls for a study into the various channels used in…
Nigeria’s halt to forex sales to money changers may increase trade-based financial crime risk
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced it has halted sales of foreign exchange to the country’s money changers or Bureaux De Change (BDCs) on the grounds that they facilitate illicit financial flows (IFFs) and other financial crimes, including terrorist funding. As this move blocks…
