Sunday March 26, 2023
With the support of Eurojust and Europol, judicial and law enforcement authorities in the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and Slovakia have taken down an organised crime group (OCG) responsible for the production and distribution of at least 4.7 tonnes of methamphetamine in Europe. During a joint action, 16 suspects were arrested and over 3.3 million tablets containing raw material for the production of the drug were seized.
According to the investigation, the perpetrators used a Romanian company to purchase the precursors (raw materials) and incorporate them into two pharmaceutical products, 50 and 120 milligram tablets of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. They used a formula that allowed them to quickly extract these precursors afterwards for the production of methamphetamine in clandestine laboratories. One of the suspects was partner and director of this company.
The tablets produced in Romania were shipped to companies in several European countries that purchased them without having a marketing authorisation in those countries. The tablets did not reach their declared destination, but were sent to various locations in Poland. From there, the shipments were split into smaller quantities and delivered to the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where they were distributed to clandestine laboratories.
Using the 'Czech method' of producing methamphetamine in clandestine laboratories, approximately 0.70 kg of methamphetamine was obtained from one kilogram of ephedrine/pseudoephedrine hydrochloride.
Between January 2021 and February 2023, the members of the criminal group allegedly organised the transport and delivery of 168 788 870 tablets containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine (approximately 6.7 tonnes of ephedrine hydrochloride), from which a total quantity of at least 4.7 tonnes of methamphetamine could be produced.
During joint action days from 26 February until 2 March, 16 suspects were arrested in the four countries involved.
In Poland, 3 184 500 pills containing ephedrine for a value of approximately EUR 840 000 (PLN 4 012 470) and 121 776 pills containing pseudoephedrine were seized. Additionally, PLN 366 200, EUR 177 215, USD 260 and CZK 1 400 were also seized.
A total of EUR 148 163, CZK 711 082 and PLN 22 433 were seized from bank accounts in the Czech Republic. Cash was also found and seized during the searches.
In Slovakia, EUR 1 129 220 was seized.
A joint investigation team (JIT) among involved countries was set up in November 2022 with the support of Eurojust. The Agency also hosted three coordination meetings to facilitate judicial cooperation and provide support for the coordinated investigative efforts.
Europol has been supporting the investigation since August 2022 by facilitating the information exchange, cross-checking operational information against its databases and providing analytical support. A Europol mobile office was also deployed to Slovakia on the day of action to assist the national authorities with their investigative measures.
The following authorities took part in this investigation:
-Czech Republic: Regional Public Prosecutor´s Office in Ostrava, Czech Police, National Anti Drug Unit
-Poland: The National Prosecutor´s Office Department for Organized Crime and Corruption in Katowice and Wroclaw, Police Central Bureau of Investigation in Katowice and Wroclaw and Polish Border Guard in Nowy Sacz
-Romania: Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice – Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism – Central Structure – Department for Combatting Drug Trafficking; Romanian National Police Directorate for Countering Organised Crime – Central Antidrug Service, and the Directorate for Special Operations
-Slovakia: Regional Public Prosecutor´s Office in Žilina, Presidium of the Police Force National Crime Agency Drug Headquarters
Europol supports Germany and the US in taking down the infrastructure of ChipMixer: as much as EUR 40 million seized
German and US authorities, supported by Europol, have targeted ChipMixer, a cryptocurrency mixer well-known in the cybercriminal underworld. The investigation was also supported by Belgium, Poland and Switzerland. On 15 March, national authorities took down the infrastructure of the platform for its alleged involvement in money laundering activities and seized four servers, about 1909.4 Bitcoins in 55 transactions (approx. EUR 44.2 million) and 7 TB of data.
ChipMixer, an unlicensed cryptocurrency mixer set up in mid-2017, was specialised in mixing or cutting trails related to virtual currency assets. The ChipMixer software blocked the blockchain trail of the funds, making it attractive for cybercriminals looking to launder illegal proceeds from criminal activities such as drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, ransomware attacks, and payment card fraud. Deposited funds would be turned into “chips” (small tokens with equivalent value), which were then mixed together - thereby anonymising all trails to where the initial funds originated.
A service available both on the clear and on the darkweb, ChipMixer offered full anonymity to their clients. This type of service is often used before criminals’ laundered crypto assets are redirected to cryptocurrency exchanges, some of which are also in the service of organised crime. At the end of the process, the ‘cleaned’ crypto can easily be exchanged into other cryptocurrencies or directly into FIAT currency though ATM or bank accounts.
EUR 2.73 billion in crypto assets laundered with “chips”
The investigation into the criminal service suggests that the platform may have facilitated the laundering of 152 000 Bitcoins (worth roughly EUR 2.73 billion in current estimations) in crypto assets. A large share of this is connected to darkweb markets, ransomware groups, illicit goods trafficking, procurement of child sexual exploitation material, and stolen crypto assets. Information obtained after the takedown of the Hydra Market darkweb platform uncovered transactions in the equivalent of millions of euros.
Ransomware actors such as Zeppelin, SunCrypt, Mamba, Dharma or Lockbit have also used this service to launder ransom payments they have received. Authorities are also investigating the possibility that some of the crypto assets stolen after the bankruptcy of a large crypto exchange in 2022 were laundered via ChipMixer.
Europol facilitated the information exchange between national authorities and supported the coordination of the operation. Europol also provided analytical support linking available data to various criminal cases within and outside the EU, and supported the investigation through operational analysis, crypto tracing, and forensic analysis. The Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce (J-CAT) at Europol also supported the operation. This standing operational team consists of cybercrime liaison officers from different countries who work on high-profile cybercrime investigations.
National authorities involved:
-Belgium: Federal police (Police Fédérale/Federale Politie)
-Germany: Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt) and General Prosecutors Office Frankfurt-Main (Generalstaatsanwaltschaft Frankfurt/Main, Zentralstelle zur Bekämpfung der Internetkriminalität)
-Poland: Central Cybercrime Bureau (Centralne Biuro Zwalczania Cyberprzestępczości)
-Switzerland: Cantonal Police of Zurich (Kantonspolizei Zürich)
-USA – Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigation, Department of Justice
In partnership between MENAFATF and the FATF Training Institute, a FATF Standards Training Course was delivered during the period of two weeks of intensive tuition (5-16 March 2023) to MENAFATF member countries. The Standards Training Course aimed at enhancing participants’ understanding of the FATF Standards on AML/CFT/CPF and assisting experts and practitioners in the implementation of effective measures to combat ML/TF, and improving their countries’ AML/CFT measures.
The National Strategy for Money Laundering and Terrorism financing aims at boosting the national economy and achieving goals of sustainable development though protecting financial and non-financial sectors in Egypt from hazards of money laundering, terrorism financing and armament, said the head of the Egyptian Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Combating Unit (EMLCU).
In a word on the occasion of the launch of the second stage of the strategy, Ahmed Saeed Khalil said coordination is underway between the unit and members of the national committee for combating money laundering and terrorism funding to update the strategy on a periodical basis in a way that copes up with regional and international developments.
He said the new stage complies with the international standards as regards combating money laundering and terrorism financing and it put into consideration the recommendations of Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental organization founded on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering and to maintain certain interest.
He lauded the tireless efforts exerted by the members of the national committee that led to launching the strategy in a record time, calling for taking real steps on the ground to put into effect the goals of the strategy.
Financial Times – March 9, 2023
Lenders will assess online resilience after ‘significant increase’ in incidents since outbreak of Ukraine war
Europe’s top financial supervisor is to launch its first test of how the sector would respond to a serious breach of its cyber defences after an increase in attacks against the region’s banks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The European Central Bank will ask all major lenders in the eurozone to detail by next year how they would “respond to and recover from a successful cyber attack”, its head of supervision said on Thursday. “We know that there has been a significant increase in cyber attacks,” Andrea Enria told Lithuanian newspaper Verslo žinios.
“We cannot apportion this to any specific source, but it is a fact that the number of these attacks has increased since the war [in Ukraine] started.” Enria said rising concern about the risk of cyber attacks meant the ECB was launching “a thematic stress test on cyber resilience” designed to provide “a better understanding of where the banks’ strengths and weaknesses are”.
The ECB is in the process of designing a scenario involving a theoretical breach of the financial system’s cyber defences, which will be sent to all of the 111 banks it supervises to assess how they would react. Enria said it would have the results by the middle of next year. Worries about the vulnerability of Europe’s financial system to disruption by hackers have intensified after a ransomware attack on Ion Markets, an Ireland-based financial data provider, disrupted parts of the vast derivatives market this year. The attack was claimed by LockBit, a group believed to be based in Russia that recently attacked Royal Mail, the UK postal service.
Fabio Panetta, an executive board member at the ECB, said this week that the hack at Ion Markets “shows how an attack on one software provider may cascade on to their clients”. While the wider fallout was limited in this case, Panetta said: “We cannot ignore scenarios where the attacks could have propagated quickly, disrupting the financial system.”
The ECB’s cyber stress test follows similar exercises by other financial authorities. The Bank of England launched a “voluntary cyber stress test” in 2021 to model the impact of an attack on the payments system.
The Federal Reserve conducts regular “joint cyber security examinations” of the biggest US banks with other relevant authorities. The Fed said last year it was “closely monitoring” how Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and other geopolitical events could lead to a “potential increase in cyber attacks that may impact critical infrastructure including the financial services sector”.
ECB supervisors are monitoring the growing reliance of banks on third-party service providers, as they could be vulnerable to cyber attacks that have a knock-on effect across the financial system. For example, banks rely heavily on big US technology companies such as Amazon and Microsoft to provide cloud computing services.
“Many banks are outsourcing critical functions, either to other companies in their group or to external providers, third-party providers of services, which are often located in other jurisdictions — sometimes in Russia itself, sometimes in India or other jurisdictions across the globe,” Enria said.
The Indian government has announced that transactions involving cryptocurrencies and virtual assets would come under money laundering provisions.
In Short
-The Union Finance Ministry has stated that cryptos or VDAs will come under money laundering rules
-A notification for the same was issued on 7 March
-Crypto exchanges are required to report any suspicious transactions
In the latest decision by the central government regarding digital assets, cryptos or virtual asset business will now come under the ambit of PMLA i.e., Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002.
The gazette notification issued on 7 March by the Union Finance Ministry, states that VDAs or virtual digital assets will now be considered 'reporting entity' under the PMLA. Also, cryptocurrency exchanges and intermediaries which deal in VDAs are mandated to perform KYC of their clients and users.
Furthermore, crypto exchanges are required to report any suspicious transactions to FIU-IND, i.e., the Financial Intelligence Unit of India.
The notification further states that the administration or safekeeping of VDAs as well as instruments enabling control over VDAs, will also be covered under the Act.
The above move has been taken to tighten the misuse of digital assets and is a step towards regulating this space. Here, it is pointed out that the Indian government is yet to finalise legislation and regulations regarding cryptocurrencies, though the RBI is of the opinion that cryptos are akin to a Ponzi scheme.
In fact, last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the country was in discussions with other G20 member nations regarding the need to formulate a standard operating protocol for regulating crypto assets.
What do experts have to say?
Following the release of the notification, several industry experts have lauded this move by the Centre. According to Sharat Chandra, Co-Founder of India Blockchain Forum, “It mandates entities dealing in crypto to follow KYC, anti-money laundering regulations and due diligence as followed by banking and other financial entities which fall under the classification of reporting entities under PMLA.”
Cairo - March 2023: Chairman of the Egyptian Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Combating Unit (EMLCU) Ahmed Saeed Khalil reviewed strenuous efforts exerted by Egypt to fight money laundering crimes and terrorism funding.
Addressing the inaugural session of the Annual Regional Workshop on Applications and Building Capabilities in the Middle East and North Africa Region in the field of Money Laundering and Terrorism Funding, hosted this year by the UAE, Monday, Khalil shed light on a number of global challenges that had to be countered and their role in the spread of various crimes including the financial ones.
The rapid global changes and the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic had provided a rich environment for trans-border crimes, corruption, human trafficking and illegal immigration, Khalil noted, adding that criminals manipulate the world crises to gain billions of dollars; a matter which deprives the economies of developing nations from the profits of any development plans.
The EMLCU chief also underlined Egypt's efforts to counter such crimes, noting that Egypt has joined the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), which commits countries to fight any corruption schemes, adding that 189 countries are now signatories to the agreement.
He also talked about Egypt launching of the third phase of the national strategy for combating corruption, which covers the period from 2023 through 2030.
On combating human trafficking and illegal immigration, Khalil said Cairo has joined several international and regional agreements on combating organized crimes, including the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC, also called the Palermo Convention), adding that Egypt is also a signatory to protocols on banning human trafficking, especially of women and children.
Khalil accentuated the need for promoting coordination among all parties concerned regionally and internationally to carry out regular financial investigation to track illicit financial activities.
He also referred to the EMLCU's role in developing the Egyptian system of combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
The MoU is part of the UAE's regional coordination approach and was signed on the sidelines of the 2023 MENAFATF Typologies workshop in Abu Dhabi
ABU DHABI - The Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing (EO AML/CTF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Morocco's National Financial Intelligence Authority (ANRF) to enhance cooperation in combatting money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing.
The MoU is part of the UAE's regional coordination approach and was signed on the sidelines of the 2023 MENAFATF Typologies workshop in Abu Dhabi, where delegations from 21 MENA countries convened for the organisation's annual event to share knowledge and best practices.
Hamid Al Zaabi, Director-General of the EO AML/CTF, stated that the MoU marks a significant step forward in both nations' efforts to lead the fight against financial crime in the region.
He explained, "The UAE and Morocco are not only important economic partners, but also global business hubs connecting the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and Asia. By enhancing our cooperation in combatting illicit financial flows, we are creating greater economic security and a more favourable environment for trade and investment that benefits the global economy.
"The MoU builds on longstanding and strong coordination between our countries, and through it, we will enhance our abilities to identify mutual threats and risks through various areas of cooperation, facilitate communication channels between relevant authorities in both jurisdictions, and increase our ability to combat criminal activities."
Dr. Jawhar Nfissi, President of ANRF, said that the MoU aims to increase the effectiveness of the long-standing partnership between the Authority and the Executive Office. Its completion crowns and strengthens the journey of cooperation and gives an institutional basis to the partnership by fostering further organisation, agility, and sustainability, thereby cementing the missions of both parties."
"Through this MoU, our organisations aim to enhance our strategic partnership and advance cooperation, exchange information, competencies, and best practises in the field of AML/CFT, related predicate offences, and counter-proliferation financing," she added.
The MoU establishes a framework for cooperation between the UAE and the Kingdom of Morocco in capacity-building, awareness-raising, and knowledge-sharing. The agreement aims to improve regional and local understanding of money laundering risks and related crimes and enhance methods of exchanging knowledge and expertise.
The knowledge exchange will include best practices on legislative and regulatory provisions, typologies, and the latest trends and sector developments.
A committee comprising representatives from EO AML/CTF and ANRF will be formed to monitor and implement the provisions of this MoU, coordinate and supervise various activities, and facilitate consultation between the two parties. Both parties will hold regular meetings to discuss issues of mutual interest to achieve the MoU's objectives.
On 2 March 2023, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), with the support of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, concluded a training of trainers aimed at furthering the skills of beneficiary entities to conduct effective financial investigations in counter-terrorism.
During the three-day course in Vienna, a team of local trainers learned more about the terrorist funding cycle, including the financial requirements of a terrorist organisation and the opportunities these present for disruption. The inter-agency team worked to further tailor course material, including an exercise scenario, to the local context together with international expert trainers.
“Money is like oxygen for terrorists. If we cut off their money, we cut off their oxygen. Therefore, stemming the flow of terrorist funds is the backbone of OSCE counter-terrorism efforts – it prevents terrorist organizations from being able to run their operations. It ultimately contributes to preventing attacks being carried out,” highlighted Irfan Saeed, Head of Anti-Terrorism Issues at the OSCE Secretariat during his opening remarks.
The course forms part of a comprehensive training programme on countering terrorist financing with the objective to further build the operational framework to prevent terrorists from moving, using and raising funds for terrorist purposes. After this course, the trainers taking part in the initiative, jointly with the lead experts, will go on to deliver this course to their peers involved in countering terrorist financing.
Rome, 28 February 2023 – The inaugural Learning and Development Forum, concluded today.
Under the Singapore Presidency, the FATF has made it a priority to improve global asset recovery. Financial crime has increased significantly in recent years, criminals are making hundreds of billions from their criminal activities, but authorities are confiscating less than 1 % globally.
Recovering criminal assets is a key component to any country’s approach to combating money laundering and terrorist financing. By successfully confiscating criminal assets, authorities remove the driver for the crime and the funding for future criminal activity.
Over 300 judicial, law enforcement, FIU, tax and other operational experts, as well as policy makers from around the globe participated in this first Learning and Development Forum, hosted by Guardia di Finanza of Italy, to learn and share experiences to improve and make a difference in the fight against financial crime.
Through a series of interactive sessions, participants discussed examples of successful frameworks and operational mechanisms to prevent and detect financial crime. They also explored tools for identifying and investigating criminal proceeds and the relationship between tax evasion and asset recovery. International cooperation is essential, particularly in the context of cyber-enabled fraud. Participants discussed channels for stronger and faster cooperation with foreign counterparts in asset recovery.
Countries need to make asset recovery a priority and ensure that the right policies and regulations are in place. FATF assessments show that this is not the case in the majority of countries. FATF President T. Raja Kumar noted in his opening remarks “We can only derive high benefit from enhanced or new asset recovery legislation and measures if the right structures and systems are put in place that will facilitate its effective use. This includes the need to have timely access to funds flow information and the ability to rapidly exchange information across borders.”
This inaugural event provided a unique opportunity for experts to build connections with international counterparts and so that collectively we can make a real difference in recovering criminal assets.
The Learning and Development Forums aim to provide an opportunity for experts from across the FATF’s Global Network to share experiences and best practices in tackling the financial flows that fuel crime and terrorism.
ABU DHABI, 2nd March, 2023 (WAM) -- The Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (EO AML/CTF) has announced its participation in the 2023 edition of the World Police Summit as gold sponsor.
The Summit will take place under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 7th-9th March.
The World Police Summit is the largest convention for policing and law enforcement officials globally and is held for the second time under the umbrella of the UAE Ministry of Interior and hosted by Dubai Police.
The Summit organisers are expecting a strong turnout of upward of 15,000 domestic and international participants.
The three-day exhibition and conference has a programme featuring over 200 speakers, with more than 250 exhibitors taking part in the event.
The Summit programme has been tailored to feature in-depth discussions about the immediate priorities and challenges facing police forces and law enforcement agencies around the world, as well as new emerging technologies that are used to mitigate crime.
The EO AML/CFT will sponsor the “Financing Crime and Anti-Money Laundering” track of the Crime Prevention Conference.
Hamid Al Zaabi, Director General of the EO AML/CTF, commented on the important role of the Summit bringing together a wide range of professionals in law enforcement and policing to facilitate coordinated action that stops financial crime.
Al Zaabi also explained that “the best way of us getting ahead of financial crime is by being alert and through joined up action and joined up intelligence. Overseeing the UAE's National AML/CFT Strategy and Agenda, the actions of the Executive Office of AML/CTF have made it easier to drive real and radical change, share intelligence and quickly respond to evolving threats, and spotting and stopping financial crime.”
He added, “Fighting financial crime can never be left to one body or one team. It takes action and vigilance across all sectors and actors. I call it the force multiplier effect. A joined up collective power significantly increases our ability to protect our international financial system whilst also readying us to face the next challenge. I commend the Ministry of Interior, Dubai Police and the organisers of the World Police Summit 2023 for their excellent efforts staging a world-class event."
Major General Dr. Abdel Qudous Al Obaidli, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Excellence and Pioneering Affairs of the Dubai Police, welcomed the sponsorship support of the Executive Office and said, “The World Police Summit is delighted that the Executive Office of AML/CTF is a gold sponsor and leading the ‘Financing Crime and Anti-Money Laundering’ track of the Crime Prevention Conference. Financial crime is a major threat to the integrity of the global economy, which requires effective international cooperation to successfully counter. The Executive Office of AML/CFT has valuable insights and practices to share from the UAE’s efforts as a global business and trade hub”.
The “Financing Crime and Anti-Money Laundering” track of the Crime Prevention Conference opens on Wednesday, 8th March with the keynote ‘Uncovering hidden assets: evolving financial intelligence and compliance frameworks for law enforcement agencies.
The session will take the format of a discussion between Chady El-Khoury, Deputy Unit Chief Financial Integrity International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Mohamed Shalo Director Of Communication and Strategic Partnerships Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing and Chair of the UAE PPP Sub Committee.
The track will continue with a leadership panel on “Anti-Money Laundering: Critical Pathways for Sharing info: bolstering global anti-money laundering & counter-terrorism financing capabilities”.
Ali Faisal Baalawi, Head of the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit will be joined by Adrian Searle Director, National Economic Crime Centre UK, Jonathan Joyce Supervisory Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Patrick South Vice President TRM Labs, Washington DC, United States of America.
A session on “Anonymity vs. Intelligence: tracing fraudulent cryptocurrency transactions” will be moderated by Tarek Mohammed, Head Of Virtual Asset Crime Section at Dubai Police and include Gurvais Grigg Former FBI Assistant Director and current Chief Technology Officer for Public Sector at Chainalysis, Abdulrasheed Bawa, Executive Chairman Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nigeria, and Nicholas Court Assistant Director, Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption, INTERPOL.
Expert speakers will also cover during the track the investigation of economic and environmental crime, the role of Central Banks Digital Currencies (CBDCs), and automating sanctions matching across multiple languages.
In cooperation with the Executive Office to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in the United Arab Emirates, MENAFATF is organizing the Typologies and Capacity Building Workshop in its 7th round in Abu Dhabi.
The Workshop will discuss the latest methods, trends and indicators of money laundering and terrorist financing operations with the participation of many experts from MENAFATF Member and observers as well as regional and international organizations.
On 21 February, a large-scale Referral Action Day targeting the misuse of dangerous chemicals by terrorist groups took place at Europol’s headquarters in The Hague.
Specialised counter terrorism units from 17 countries worked hand in hand with Europol’s European Counter Terrorism Centre to restrict access to instructions online on how to use high-risk chemical for terrorist attacks.
A number of chemicals routinely used in industrial processes or professional functions can react upon mixing, producing hazardous substances that could be used to carry out chemical terrorist attacks.
Investigators scoured the clear and dark web to identify and refer for removal propaganda and instructions on the use of high-risk chemicals, and the toxic gases they generate, in terrorist material and online fora.
As a result, over 120 individual pieces of content were referred to 21 online service providers to secure their swift removal.
The referred content covered five languages and was disseminated by terrorist supporting networks, including jihadist, right-wing and left-wing terrorist groups.
The findings of this Referral Action Day will feed into the analysis of the current threat picture on high-risk chemicals in the impact assessment produced by the European Commission.
Participating countries
Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia, Czechia, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Spain, the United Kingdom.
Spanish law enforcement seized more than EUR 5.5 million in assets; criminals had built drug production infrastructure
A joint investigation supported by Europol has led to the arrest of 20 suspected money launderers and drug traffickers. The operation was led by the Spanish Guardia Civil, with support from the Italian Central Directorate for Anti-Drugs Services (Direzione Centrale Servizi Antidroga), and resulted in the seizure of more than EUR 5.5 million in criminal assets and over 2 tons of drugs. Based in the South of Spain, the criminal network was composed of Albanian, Italian, Spanish and Moroccan nationals, and was led by Italian nationals who evaded capture using forged identity documents.
Results of the operation include:
-6 houses searched in Seville, Spain
-20 suspects arrested
-assets seized worth an estimated at EUR 5.5 million
-2 luxury watches and EUR 16 545 in cash seized
-2 500 kilograms of hashish and 45.6 kilograms of marijuana seized
-criminal infrastructure seized including lorries, a boat, tools for marijuana cultivation and hashish production, and 34 mobile phones
-large marijuana plantation and drug lab discovered
-forged travel and identification documents seized
Criminals relied on false identities
As the Italian leaders of the criminal network were subjects of European Arrest Orders, they used falsified documents to veil their identities. Residing in towns between Seville and Malaga, they attempted to avoid detection by taking various security measures and by frequently changing their addresses.
The criminal network used a variety of money laundering methods to obfuscate their drug trafficking proceeds. These included the channelling of money - through business bank accounts using fake invoices, loans, or other debts - among a network of companies involved in the transport of drugs. Other methods used were investments in luxury real estate, rentals, luxury goods and vehicles, as well as cash payments.
Drug lab and marijuana plantation
Investigations in this case were kicked off in October 2021, when a hashish shipment was found hidden in a lorry transporting pallets of onions. Law enforcement arrested the two drivers and seized 468 kilograms of hashish. This was followed by another seizure of 194 kilograms of hashish and 30 kilograms of marijuana in May 2022. In the same month a boat chartered by the criminal organisation was intercepted by law enforcement on the open sea, resulting in the arrest of its three occupants, as well as the seizure of 1 800 kilograms of hashish and the vessel itself.
The interception of this large shipment from Morocco shows that is has become increasingly difficult for criminals to import drugs via the sea. To circumvent this issue, the organisation had built a laboratory for hashish production and set up a large marijuana plantation in southern Spain. These were discovered in the course of the operation, which involved more than 150 law enforcement officials. Europol provided operational expertise as well as analytical and operational support from the very beginning of the investigation. Furthermore, a Europol specialist was deployed on location in Spain during the main action day.
Having achieved over US$65 billion in global sales in 2021, the arts and antiquities industry is an attractive market for money laundering activity, according to a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) report.
With a noticeable 29% growth in sales from the year prior, criminals and the corrupt recognize the potential for illicit activity within the industry, which conveniently goes to great lengths to protect the privacy of its high-end buyers and sellers.
Valuable artworks, FATF explained, not only command high prices but also appreciate over time. Take into consideration that it is possible to buy and sell them privately, as well as how small pieces like antique gold coins can be transported across borders with ease, and suddenly you have a highly versatile means of laundering your ill-gotten gains. Indeed, the highly-subjective nature of an art piece’s true value allows criminals to purchase an item with their illicit proceeds, and then hold it for several years before finally selling it for a “clean” profit.
While admittedly a slow method of layering in the money laundering process, it has nonetheless been noted by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to be an effective one. Sam Hardy, a cultural property criminologist at Rey Juan Carlos University and the Norwegian Institute of Cultural Heritage Research, noted that even when authorities prosecute cases of arts and antiquities involved in criminal activity, the punishment rarely fits the crime. “Even if they plead guilty or stand trial and are convicted, they'll probably escape with a fine,” he told OCCRP on Monday.
One explanation for this is because money laundering is almost always linked to a prior criminal act. Connecting all the dots can be particularly challenging for investigators, who sometimes must simply settle for a lesser charge. What’s most important to understand, FATF said, is that money laundering is but the final step in the criminal chain. The funds themselves were originally generated from crimes such as drug trafficking and corruption that harm society and drain its financial resources.
And fortunately for criminals, the art and antiquities’ industry is renowned for the privacy it guarantees its buyers and sellers.
Private dealers, third party intermediaries, and auction houses are but a few purveyors that prospective buyers may approach to make purchases with their ill-gotten gains. All without risking their real name appearing on any sort of bill of sale or official documentation. In the U.S., for instance, art dealers are a popular enabler for money launderers, in that the transactions they facilitate are not subject to high degrees of scrutiny from the country’s financial authorities.
Intermediaries, meanwhile, are noted by FATF to be relatively common in the buying and selling process, a fact which helps to obscure the identity of the criminal actor pulling the strings behind the veil.
While the report highlights that the majority of participants in the art world do not have any connection to illicit activity, they also lack any incentive to properly scrutinize prospective buyers and their source of funds.
And if no controversy ever arises from the sale, then there is little reason to; the artist gains reputation from having sold an original piece or the private seller makes a tidy profit off their investment before all parties go their separate ways.
Auction houses, likewise, have a financial incentive to list items at a higher price, given the commission they take off of each sale. This incentive, FATF argues, could “reduce the amount of due diligence” they conduct in ensuring that all transactions are made with total transparency. Ultimately, privacy guaranteed is what “protects the reputations and businesses of participants in those supply chains,” Hardy said.
Authorities, meanwhile, are largely outmatched in their fight against criminal activity within the art world.
The two fundamental problems for policing, Hardy explained, are a lack of specialized agents who can investigate such cases and non-specialized agents who can immediately recognize an item of interest, much like a narcotics officer can immediately recognize a stash of drugs.
And thanks to its transportable size, high-value art can be easily spirited across borders, away from those who might recognize its true origins. “Laws vary widely in source, transit and market countries,” Hardy said. “For instance, archaeological goods may be illegally extracted from one country, then converted into legal goods through possession in another country.”
Border agents, meanwhile, would be considered ill-equipped to give an accurate appraisal to a work of art; through no fault of their own, they simply lack the expertise and knowledge of the industry’s rich history.
And once the item has left its country of origin is when the real nightmare begins for investigators.
For various reasons, Hardy said, a law enforcement agency in one country may not be willing to cooperate with another country; be it for human rights concerns or other political reasons. Add in the fact that not all countries even possess specialized units trained to investigate money laundering in the art world, and international investigations can be sunk before they even truly start. It is for this reason that FATF recommends that as many countries as possible compile databases on their respective countries’ artworks and registries on any sales therein.
The Italian Carabinieri Unit for the Protection of Cultural Heritage and Interpol’s Stolen Works of Art database are but two examples that could be referenced. And by making them readily available to partner law enforcement agencies when requested, it suddenly becomes far easier to cross-reference any transactions flagged for potential stolen items or money laundering activity.
As for private sellers and art dealers, FATF recommends a more thorough due diligence process for recording transactions. More intensive regulation and supervision, especially for sales involving lawyers and third party intermediaries, will hinder criminals’ ability to abuse the industry for money laundering purposes, FATF said.
Having achieved over US$65 billion in global sales in 2021, the arts and antiquities industry is an attractive market for money laundering activity, according to a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) report.
With a noticeable 29% growth in sales from the year prior, criminals and the corrupt recognize the potential for illicit activity within the industry, which conveniently goes to great lengths to protect the privacy of its high-end buyers and sellers.
Valuable artworks, FATF explained, not only command high prices but also appreciate over time. Take into consideration that it is possible to buy and sell them privately, as well as how small pieces like antique gold coins can be transported across borders with ease, and suddenly you have a highly versatile means of laundering your ill-gotten gains. Indeed, the highly-subjective nature of an art piece’s true value allows criminals to purchase an item with their illicit proceeds, and then hold it for several years before finally selling it for a “clean” profit.
While admittedly a slow method of layering in the money laundering process, it has nonetheless been noted by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to be an effective one. Sam Hardy, a cultural property criminologist at Rey Juan Carlos University and the Norwegian Institute of Cultural Heritage Research, noted that even when authorities prosecute cases of arts and antiquities involved in criminal activity, the punishment rarely fits the crime. “Even if they plead guilty or stand trial and are convicted, they'll probably escape with a fine,” he told OCCRP on Monday.
One explanation for this is because money laundering is almost always linked to a prior criminal act. Connecting all the dots can be particularly challenging for investigators, who sometimes must simply settle for a lesser charge. What’s most important to understand, FATF said, is that money laundering is but the final step in the criminal chain. The funds themselves were originally generated from crimes such as drug trafficking and corruption that harm society and drain its financial resources.
And fortunately for criminals, the art and antiquities’ industry is renowned for the privacy it guarantees its buyers and sellers.
Private dealers, third party intermediaries, and auction houses are but a few purveyors that prospective buyers may approach to make purchases with their ill-gotten gains. All without risking their real name appearing on any sort of bill of sale or official documentation. In the U.S., for instance, art dealers are a popular enabler for money launderers, in that the transactions they facilitate are not subject to high degrees of scrutiny from the country’s financial authorities.
Intermediaries, meanwhile, are noted by FATF to be relatively common in the buying and selling process, a fact which helps to obscure the identity of the criminal actor pulling the strings behind the veil.
While the report highlights that the majority of participants in the art world do not have any connection to illicit activity, they also lack any incentive to properly scrutinize prospective buyers and their source of funds.
And if no controversy ever arises from the sale, then there is little reason to; the artist gains reputation from having sold an original piece or the private seller makes a tidy profit off their investment before all parties go their separate ways.
Auction houses, likewise, have a financial incentive to list items at a higher price, given the commission they take off of each sale. This incentive, FATF argues, could “reduce the amount of due diligence” they conduct in ensuring that all transactions are made with total transparency. Ultimately, privacy guaranteed is what “protects the reputations and businesses of participants in those supply chains,” Hardy said.
Authorities, meanwhile, are largely outmatched in their fight against criminal activity within the art world.
The two fundamental problems for policing, Hardy explained, are a lack of specialized agents who can investigate such cases and non-specialized agents who can immediately recognize an item of interest, much like a narcotics officer can immediately recognize a stash of drugs.
And thanks to its transportable size, high-value art can be easily spirited across borders, away from those who might recognize its true origins. “Laws vary widely in source, transit and market countries,” Hardy said. “For instance, archaeological goods may be illegally extracted from one country, then converted into legal goods through possession in another country.”
Border agents, meanwhile, would be considered ill-equipped to give an accurate appraisal to a work of art; through no fault of their own, they simply lack the expertise and knowledge of the industry’s rich history.
And once the item has left its country of origin is when the real nightmare begins for investigators.
For various reasons, Hardy said, a law enforcement agency in one country may not be willing to cooperate with another country; be it for human rights concerns or other political reasons. Add in the fact that not all countries even possess specialized units trained to investigate money laundering in the art world, and international investigations can be sunk before they even truly start. It is for this reason that FATF recommends that as many countries as possible compile databases on their respective countries’ artworks and registries on any sales therein.
The Italian Carabinieri Unit for the Protection of Cultural Heritage and Interpol’s Stolen Works of Art database are but two examples that could be referenced. And by making them readily available to partner law enforcement agencies when requested, it suddenly becomes far easier to cross-reference any transactions flagged for potential stolen items or money laundering activity.
As for private sellers and art dealers, FATF recommends a more thorough due diligence process for recording transactions. More intensive regulation and supervision, especially for sales involving lawyers and third party intermediaries, will hinder criminals’ ability to abuse the industry for money laundering purposes, FATF said.
Swiss lawyers, notaries and other consultants should be subject to due diligence obligations under the money laundering law, says Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter. Parliament exempted them during a modest legal revision two years ago.
“We must not rush headlong. It is useless if parliament abolishes it again. But the Federal Council (executive body) is of the opinion that it is necessary,” Keller-Sutter told the Tamedia press group in an interview published on Saturday.
Swiss lawmakers agreed to tighten up the money laundering law in March 2021 but rejected new rules for lawyers, notaries and other consultants that would have made them subject to due diligence requirements in the Money Laundering Act. Anti-corruption campaigners have criticised this loophole.
In Saturday’s interview the finance minister said the authorities had been working on plans for a central register to identify the beneficial owners of legal persons since October. Swiss financial advisors would be part of this initiative.
Switzerland’s financial centre is crucial to the country and money laundering is a risk to its reputation, said Keller-Sutter.
“We have every interest in reducing the vulnerable zone as much as possible,” she said.
Switzerland's revised law on money laundering came into force at the beginning of 2023. Under the revision, financial intermediaries are required to verify the identity of customers, record which services have been provided to them, and clarify their background and purpose.
Associations that collect or distribute funds abroad for charitable purposes are also required to be more transparent. They have to sign up to the commercial register, appoint a representative in Switzerland and keep a list of their members for five years.
Another key revision is the reporting of suspicious activity. Parliament agreed that banks are obliged to inform the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MLROS) when they have any “well-founded suspicion” of criminal funds.
The revised law does not however include specific measures covering financial advisors, which had drawn the ire of corruption watchdogs. The "Panama Papers", the work of a network of journalists who uncovered tax avoidance and money laundering on an epic scale, put the role of lawyers and consultants in the spotlight.
The investigation showed that 1,339 Swiss lawyers, financial advisors and other middlemen had set up more than 38,000 offshore entities over the last 40 years. These entities listed 4,595 officers – or administrators – that are also connected to Switzerland.
Rabat - Morocco has been removed from an international grey list that warrants increased surveillance for money laundering, global intergovernmental money laundering watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has announced.
FATF placed the North African country on its grey list in February 2021, putting it in the same category as countries such as Syria, Panama, and Yemen, which have pervasive money laundering and terrorist financing concerns.
The organization justified its designation of Morocco to the country’s “failure” to follow FATF’s recommendations in regard to limiting money laundering and terrorist financing.
Following its three-day plenary meeting in Paris between February 22 and 24, the organization announced that both Morocco and Cambodia are “no longer under increased monitoring.”
FATF recognized Morocco and Cambodia’s “progress” in improving their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) regimes, “covered by their individual action plans.”
“Each country has addressed its technical deficiencies to meet the commitments of its action plan on strategic deficiencies that the FATF identified in February 2019 and 2021 respectively,” added the organization.
However, the two countries will continue working with the FATF-Style Regional Body (FSRB) to “further strengthen their AML/CFT.” Both Morocco and Cambodia are members of the FSRB, which are autonomous regional organizations that help FATF implement its global policies.
FATF’s decision to take Morocco off its grey list comes after the country “made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and MENAFATF to strengthen the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime” in February 2021.
During the organization’s October 2022 plenary, FATF recognized that Morocco has “substantially completed its action plan and warrants an on-site assessment.”
Headed by FATF President T. Raja Kumar, the three-day discussion saw the participation of more than 200 jurisdictions of the Global Network.
Besides Morocco and Cambodia, the organization discussed the status of several other countries, including Russia, South Africa, Nigeria, Qatar, and Indonesia.
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com
DMCC – the world’s flagship free zone and Government of Dubai Authority on commodities trade and enterprise – today announced that the UAE will be appointed chair of the Kimberley Process in 2024, assuming the role as Vice Chair in 2023. The decision follows the deliberations at the Kimberley Process Plenary meeting in Gaborone, Botswana that concluded on 5 November.
The Kimberley Process (“KP”) is an international group tasked with regulating the global diamond trade. Established in 2003 by the United Nations, 85 participating countries seek to ensure that unregulated rough diamonds do not enter the legitimate diamond market as a means to finance conflict. This mandate has fostered greater transparency in the industry by implementing a rigorous certification scheme. In 2016, the UAE was the first and only Arab country appointed to the annual Chairmanship.
Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DMCC, said: “The Kimberley Process is a global body that strives to enable trade to flourish in a safe and stable environment so that all participants and their dependent societies can benefit to the full. At a time of significant uncertainty and turbulence in the markets, the UAE chairmanship of the Kimberley Process will provide stability and continuity, and we are committed to working with its members to ensure the long-term sustainable growth of the global diamond sector with the highest levels of integrity.”
The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) in the UAE falls under the Ministry of Economy which has, in turn, authorised DMCC to manage the nation’s import and export procedure for rough diamonds.
In 2021 the UAE became the world’s largest rough diamond trade hub, with USD 22.8 billion traded. In the first half of this year, the UAE recorded USD 19.8 billion in total diamond trade after a record 25% year-on-year growth.
The UAE is home to the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) at Almas Tower, Dubai. This building houses the UAE’s main KP office, ensuring the legitimate trade of diamonds through the entire country. The DDE is the largest diamond tender facility in the world and home to over 1,150 diamond companies, providing members and industry professionals with state-of-the-art infrastructure, facilities, products, and services to grow and trade with confidence.
The Dubai Diamond Exchange is an active member of the World Diamond Council, World Federation of Diamond Bourses, the World Jewellery Confederation, and the Responsible Jewellery Council.
Experts and trainers on drug trafficking from Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia and the EU convened last week at the International Training Center in Budapest for a five-day workshop in the frame of the EUROMED Police project. The aim was to develop a training curriculum to step up the capacity of law enforcement officers to fight drug trafficking.
The workshop was the first step of a pilot train-the-trainers programme led by the EUROMED Police project that will result in a course addressed to experts and instructors from law enforcement agencies in the EU’s South Partner Countries.
The training curriculum developed at this activity defines the content, learning outcomes and learning strategy of the train-the-trainers course and includes inputs from the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT) representatives, who participated in the event.
The train-the-trainers programme will enable skilled experts in the EUROMED Police partner countries to cascade the acquired knowledge within their organisation, thus making training more sustainable and favouring the ownership of the developed course on drug trafficking.
