Day: October 12, 2019

On 11^th October, RUSI published a comprehensive and in-depth analysis saying that in-game artefacts and currencies often have real-life value and can be used to move or invest criminal proceeds – but that there are no clear expectations of what game operators can or should do to identify criminal activity.  It concedes that unofficial sale of in-game items can contravene the game’s rules and has given rise to several court disputes in the US, though it also says that the underground trade has historically been closely related to so-called “gold farming”, the practice of playing online games specifically to obtain valuable items and resell them to other gamers.  It refers to recent reports on the use of stolen bank/credit cards to but in-game “currency”.  The article argues that if a computer game allows players to transfer in-game items to each other, and these in-game items can be exchanged into fiat currency, the gaming company’s position is similar to that of a virtual currency exchange – but unlike the latter FATF and other rules would not appear to compel the application of AML regulation – and neither FATF nor FinCEN states whether in-game currencies are covered by AML/CFT regulations.  So far, governments have confined their examination of in-game transactions to consumer protection and/or gambling issues arising from ‘loot boxes’, the article says; and while subjecting online games to AML/CFT regulation without further evidence would be a step too far, governments should engage with the industry to clarify expectations in relation to the identification of criminal conduct and its reporting. Furthermore, the companies themselves should consider instituting customer verification and voluntary reporting of suspicious activity to law enforcement if their in-game items trade for fiat currency, whether officially within the game or on extraneous platforms.

https://rusi.org/publication/rusi-newsbrief/gaming-system-money-laundering-through-online-games

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A news release from the UN on 11^th October advised that the entry for a UK national, ANJEM CHOUDARY had been amended following his release from prison in the UK in October 2018 (having been released on licence which expires in July 2021).

https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/sc13984.doc.htm

https://www.interpol.int/en/How-we-work/Notices/View-UN-Notices-Individuals#2018-84874

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On 11^th October, a US Treasury news release advised that, given Turkey’s ongoing military offensive in north-eastern Syria, President Trump intends to sign an Executive Order providing for new sanctions.  It will give authority to designate individuals and entities of the Government of Turkey involved in human rights abuses or actions leading to the further deterioration of peace, security, and stability in north-eastern Syria.  It also will give the Treasury the authority to impose secondary sanctions on those engaging in knowing and significant transactions with designated individuals and entities of the Government of Turkey.

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm791

This blog is primarily for my own use, to keep informed and up to date. However, if you would like to say thank you (and perhaps help me get a new, better laptop when I am away…) you can “buy me a coffee” at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/KoIvM842y

On 11^th October, Homeland Security Today reported that the Abuja conference ended with a firm declaration to globally criminalise acts of insecurity and proceeds from illegal maritime activities from the zone as was with the case of the “blood diamonds”.  A communiqué, the  Abuja Declaration, on the Gulf of Guinea crisis said Gulf of Guinea States and the international community should put mechanisms in place to ensure that resources that are illegally harvested/explored in the GoG, including stolen oil and Illegal Unreported and Unregulated Fishery, are intentionally banned as was the case with the ‘blood diamonds’.

https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/maritime-security/abuja-declaration-moves-to-treat-maritime-crime-proceeds-like-blood-diamonds/

This blog is primarily for my own use, to keep informed and up to date. However, if you would like to say thank you (and perhaps help me get a new, better laptop when I am away…) you can “buy me a coffee” at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/KoIvM842y