This virtual event explored how countries and companies can more effectively tackle the hundreds of billions in illegal funds flowing annually from environmental crimes. Critical imperatives include:

1. Proper assessments of financial crime risks arising from environmental crimes, by governments and the private sector.
2. More proactive cooperation across sectors and countries, through public-private partnerships and similar mechanisms.
3. Applying good ideas and effective tools from other areas of financial crime-fighting to the challenge of environmental crime.

It was part of the Corrupting the Environment webinar series of the Basel Institute on Governance and the OECD.

David Lewis, then Executive Secretary of the FATF, moderated this high-profile event on 17 March 2021. On the panel were leading experts in “following the money” to address environmental crimes:

• Atuweni Juwayeyi-Agbermodji, AML/CFT Program Officer, UNODC Southern Africa; former Director General, Financial Intelligence Agency, Malawi
• Olivier de Perregaux, CEO LGT Private Banking, Liechtenstein
• Daniel Thelesklaf, Anti-Money Laundering / Anti-Corruption Expert
• Werner Venter, Senior Manager, Financial Crime Intelligence Unit, Absa Group Ltd.