Actors in grand corruption schemes often conspire and deliberately create sophisticated networks to extract huge amounts of public resources from government systems. They hide such conspiracies behind hybrid formal/informal arrangements.
Publication
Research Case Study 3: Exposing the networks behind transnational corruption and money laundering schemes
Corruption is increasingly understood as a form of collective, social behaviour. It slips easily across borders and involves sophisticated financial strategies and transactions to launder the stolen money.
Yet the nexus between corruption and money laundering is poorly understood. So too are the structures, functions and mechanisms that enable these crimes.
The art market is often described as ‘niche’. In reality, it is a significant trade industry: sales of art and antiques by dealers and auction houses reached an estimated USD 65.1 billion in 2021. And like many industries of this size, it attracts people seeking to abuse it to launder proceeds of crime or evade sanctions.
This quick guide briefly explains the unique characteristics of the art market that make it vulnerable to this type of abuse. It also outlines steps that jurisdictions can take to prevent and combat abuse of the sector for illicit purposes.
This case study describes how authorities in Kenya and Jersey worked together to unlock progress in a long-running case involving around USD 3.7 million in corruptly acquired funds.
The money was held in the bank account of the shelf company Windward Trading, which was used to channel corrupt payments relating to power generation in Kenya.
This quick guide sets out how criminals abuse the gambling industry to launder illicit funds. It includes numerous recent case studies to illustrate different ways of laundering money in casinos, online gambling websites, bars and clubs, as well as physical and online sports betting services.
The guide also looks at what gambling businesses and public authorities can do to better prevent and detect money laundering in this industry.
The 6th Global Conference on Criminal Finances and Cryptocurrencies (#6CRC) – a two-day gathering of thousands of crypto specialists and financial investigators from law enforcement, regulators and the private sector – came to an end today at Europol’s headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands.
As cryptocurrency use expands into practically every country and sector, so does its abuse to commit new forms of crime and launder dirty money, said speakers.
Publication
Case Study 1: The Serwamba case: achieving Uganda’s first successful money laundering convictions
This case study explains how Ugandan prosecutors obtained the first ever convictions under the 2013 Anti-Money Laundering Act, overcoming numerous challenges in relation to the financial investigation, prosecution, international cooperation and asset management.
Publication
The nexus between corruption and money laundering: deconstructing the Toledo‑Odebrecht network in Peru
The paper targets the nexus between corruption and money laundering. Scholars and practitioners recently observed how offshore financial centers and financial infrastructures have become central in facilitating corruption and other criminal activities.
Offshore vehicles often serve to conceal the connections between business people and politically exposed persons. Secrecy jurisdictions and service providers have emerged as key actors in these illicit schemes.
The paper explores the following questions:
What does the web of connections look like that underlies grand corruption and money laundering schemes and the abuse of offshore financial centres? Who are the people involved, how do they interact and what do they do?
And what insights can we draw by looking at complex corruption and money laundering schemes from the perspective of social networks, rather than solely individuals?
These questions are at the heart of a new analysis of the so-called Lava Jato or Odebrecht scandal that has engulfed Latin America.
This working paper is based on an empirical investigation of corruption and illicit exchange related to the so-called “Lava Jato” or “Odebrecht” scandal. Focusing on former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo and his laundering of bribes obtained from the construction giant Odebrecht, the analysis aims to test the usefulness of applying a network lens to better understand the mechanisms underlying grand corruption cases.