On 22 March, FATF published a report which analyses the money laundering and terrorist financing risks associated with migrant smuggling. While there has been an increase in migrant smuggling, many countries do not consider it a high-risk crime for money laundering and the associated financial flows are rarely investigated.  The report –

• identifies the most common methods to transfer and launder the proceeds of migrant smuggling, from hawala, integration of proceeds into legitimate business such as shops, travel agencies and transport companies, and the increasing use of professional money launderers;
• using countries’ experiences, provides several recommendations and good practices that allow authorities to better trace criminal proceeds and enhance the effectiveness of money laundering investigations; and
• highlights the need for countries to understand the money laundering risks they face from migrant smuggling and to proactively follow the money linked to this criminal activity, including through increased collaboration with national and international authorities and the private sector.

https://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/methodsandtrends/documents/migrant-smuggling.html

A shorter handout is also available –

https://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/Migrant-smuggling-handout.pdf

 

Any modest contributions for my time and ongoing expenses are welcomed!  I have a page where you can do so, and where one-off contributions start as low as $3, at https://www.buymea3coffee.com/KoIvM842y