The use of virtual assets such as cryptocurrencies has expanded hugely around the world. Thousands of new users are added each day, and more individuals now use cryptocurrencies than trade on stock exchanges. Yet, as with all emerging technologies, there are risks that cryptocurrencies can be used for illegal activity such as money laundering and terrorist financing.
Released today, the 10th annual edition of the Basel AML Index raises grave questions about whether jurisdictions are serious about tackling their money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) risks, and what is holding them back.
The Basel AML Index is an independent annual ranking that assesses ML/TF threats around the world and the capacity of jurisdictions’ anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) measures to address their specific risks.
The sixth event in the Corrupting the Environment webinar series discussed waste trafficking, a topic that receives little attention despite generating significant criminal proceeds (estimates suggest up to USD 12 billion per year). In addition to the financial costs, waste trafficking has enormous impacts for the environment, including from pollution or degradation, and inhibits development by fuelling corruption and poverty in some countries.
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.
Money laundering risks evolve fast, as do the tools and data available to assess them. That is why the Basel AML Index – the Basel Institute’s flagship index of money laundering risks around the world – updates its methodology every year, following an in-depth review with a group of experts from diverse backgrounds.
The Basel Institute on Governance is delighted to join the Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime (GCFFC) in support of its core mission to make the fight against financial crime more effective. Together with her senior leadership team, Basel Institute Managing Director Gretta Fenner will chair the Coalition's new Anti-Corruption Expert Working Group.
** Update: After this blog was published, FinCEN announced an extension to the comment period for the proposed regulation on transactions to and from so-called unhosted wallets. See details here.**
Twenty anti-corruption investigators and financial intelligence analysts from 10 African countries completed an intensive Advanced Operational Analysis course last week hosted by the Commonwealth Africa Anti-Corruption Centre (CAACC).
Are we at a turning point in the fight to save our planet from the ravages of environmental crime and corruption?
Possibly. The ongoing pandemic, caused by a zoonotic disease, has brought home the fact that environmental degradation is already altering our lives. Hopes that this was a one-off disruption and that we could soon return to the way things were have been dashed. It is now frighteningly clear that the pace of abuse of our planet keeps accelerating and the next crisis looms around the corner.
The Basel Institute on Governance is offering a new Cryptocurrencies and Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Training course aimed at law enforcement officials, professionals in AML compliance and FinTech/RegTech fields, as well as policymakers and investigative journalists.
Delivered over four three-hour online sessions, the course covers the essentials of how to detect and prevent the use of virtual assets for illicit activities.