ASSESSING THE VULNERABILITY OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN THE BALKANS TO ILLICIT FINANCE. Despite efforts to prevent illicit finance – such as the adoption of international frameworks, Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards and the EU’s anti-money laundering (AML) directives – financial institutions in the Western Balkans remain highly vulnerable to sophisticated criminals and the inherent ..read more

Money laundering risk understanding is a foundational element on which a national AML/CFT system is built. This is reinforced by Recommendation 1 of the FATF Standards, which requires countries to “identify, assess and understand” its money laundering risks, and to take action to ensure that these risks “are mitigated effectively”. The development of an accurate ..read more

Europol supports Albania and Italy in the fight against drug trafficking from South America. Law enforcement authorities in Albania and Italy have taken down a drug trafficking criminal network led by two Albanian brothers. The perpetrators are believed to be responsible for organising drug shipments from South America to several EU Member States. Europol supported ..read more

India has achieved a high-level of technical compliance across the FATF Recommendations and has taken significant steps to implement measures to tackle illicit finance. Nevertheless, it is critical that the country continues to improve its system as its economy and financial system continue to grow, in particular ensuring that money laundering and terrorist financing trials ..read more

Gold has become the new investment of the criminal organizations: “They got rich from it” Against the backdrop of rising gold prices, it appears that criminals from criminal organizations abandoned investment in crypto and purchased ounces of gold. The police are having trouble locating the gold that finances the criminal organizations’ villas, B&Bs and luxury ..read more

Corruption is an existential threat to international order and a scourge on societies. It can diminish the rule of law and the impartial administration of justice while depriving citizens in jurisdictions around the world of the good governance and resources to which they are entitled. When government officials abuse public trust to enrich themselves, they undermine the government’s ability to provide public goods and services, foster sustainable development, and ensure fair competition. Corruption can distort markets and threatens financial integrity, and in the worst scenarios, exposes juri ..read more

The use of money mule accounts is commonly used in financial schemes, illicit financial flows, romance scams, job scams and a myriad other scams. These are serious crimes which generate proceeds from unsuspecting victims, who unwittingly send money to the bank accounts of money mules, for use by the criminals who take over the money mules’ accounts. Criminals use money mules to obfuscate the flow of money which benefits them. Money muling is often a precursor to or part of other criminal activities such as identity theft and money laundering which adds to its complexity and complicates the de ..read more

The mutual evaluation report1 (MER) of the Holy See (including the Vatican City State) was adopted in April 2021. Given the results of the MER, the Holy See (including the Vatican City State) was placed in regular follow-up.   The report analyzes the progress of the Holy See (including the Vatican City State) in addressing the technical compliance (TC) deficiencies identified in its MER. Re-ratings are given where sufficient progress has been made. Overall, the expectation is that countries will have addressed most if not all TC deficiencies by the end of the third year from the adopti ..read more

The 2024 National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing (the 2024 Strategy; Illicit Finance Strategy [IFS]) lays forth a blueprint for U.S. government efforts to effectively address the most significant illicit finance threats and risks to the U.S. financial system. It is organized around the principle that a strong and transparent financial system that denies illicit actors access to the funds and resources they need to carry out harmful activities or to profit from their crimes, protects ordinary Americans, furthers U.S. national security, and supports equitable econo ..read more

This month there’s a focus on terrorist groups using organizations, including charities, to obscure their money trails. South Africa also published a report detailing terrorist financing risks within its non-profit sector. Highlights include a foiled attack in the US connected to ISIL fundraising networks, a court case involving a Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham financier, and the criminal activities funding a separatist group in Bangladesh. Let’s get into it! North America An Idaho teenager was arrested for allegedly planning to attack churchgoers on behalf of ISIL. The FBI discovered his activities d ..read more