Assessing the impact of Covid-19 on trade-based financial crime
In the two years since the first cases of Covid-19 were reported several experts and authorities have endeavoured to establish the impact of the pandemic on trade-based financial crime (TBFC). But while it is relatively easy to establish increased vulnerabilities in the supply chains fractured…
Financial flows associated with illegal wildlife trade in South Africa uncovered
Co-mingling illegally obtained wildlife product with other commodities such as sugar, maize or fuel is one of several ways criminals are disguising their activities in the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) in South Africa according to a new report. Financial Flows associated with Illegal Wildlife Trade…
Liberia and Sierra Leone endorse joint communiqué on border security and call for more regional cooperation
Liberia and Sierra Leone have endorsed a joint communiqué signalling their intent to cooperate to introduce tighter controls on their shared borders to ensure transparent currency declarations and curb illicit and illegal cross-border activities, including trade-based money laundering (TBML) and illegal trading of precious stones…
Master of trade-based money laundering extradited to and charged in US
Alleged financier to embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Alex Saab, has been charged in an indictment with laundering the proceeds of violations of the US’ Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in connection with a scheme to pay bribes to take advantage of Venezuela’s government-controlled exchange…
TBML not well understood, even by financial experts
The principal vulnerability to trade-based money laundering (TBML) in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region is that it is not well understood, even by financial crime experts according to Global Financial Integrity (GFI). For its latest survey, Financial Crime in Latin America and…
Compliance costs for TBML in the US and Canada up sharply since 2019 says LexisNexis report
Compliance costs for trade-based money laundering (TBML) have increased very significantly in the US and Canada in the two years to 2021 while the total projected cost of financial crime compliance in the region is up 58 per cent compared to 2019 according to a…
Trade misinvoicing in Mexico and Colombia under scrutiny
Global Financial Integrity (GFI) has published an analysis of trade misinvoicing in Mexico and Colombia where individuals or entities falsify the quantity, price, and quality of goods to launder money, claim tax incentives, or evade taxes, duties and capital controls. Corruption, lack of political will,…
Alarm sounded over TBML and failures to conduct financial investigations in African environmental crimes
Tanzanian authorities failed to undertake financial investigations in a major case concerning wildlife poaching while illicit actors in Madagascar’s lucrative vanilla trade are turning to trade-based money laundering (TBML) says the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime (GITOC). No financial investigation was ever undertaken in…
Chinese national who used seafood TBML in global drug money laundering scheme pleads guilty
A Chinese national and naturalised US citizen has pleaded guilty to his involvement in a conspiracy to launder at least US$30 million in drug proceeds on behalf of global drug trafficking organisations. Trade-based money laundering (TBML) was used extensively by Xizhi Li, who along with…
IHS Markit allies with Complidata to provide financial crime due diligence frameworks for trade finance
Veteran information, analytics and solutions provider to the maritime and trade sector, IHS Markit has announced a partnership with and Complidata, which offers a data driven anti-money laundering (AML) trade finance platform. The partnership will offer customers in trade finance a series of risk and…
