Through money laundering, criminals fund and profit from illicit activity such as arms sales, narcotics, human trafficking, contraband smuggling, embezzlement, insider trading, bribery, and fraud schemes. In addition to organized criminal groups, professional money launderers perform money laundering services on […]
The non-fungible token (NFTs) sector is in a state of flux. Reuters estimates that sales of NFTs reached around $25bn in 2021, and individual items have sold for as much as $90m. But high-profile scams in 2022, such as a […]
Payment fraud is when someone steals another person’s payment information – or tricks them into sharing it – to make false or illegal transactions. The 2022 AFP® Payments Fraud and Control Survey reports that 71% of organizations were victims of […]
Money laundering underpins most forms of organized crime by disguising illicitly-obtained financial assets as “clean” and allowing nefarious groups or individuals to profit from illegal activity. While the amount of money laundered globally in one year is estimated to equal […]
If there’s one pain point that stands out in the ComplyAdvantage State of Financial Crime 2022 report, it’s cybercrime. Our annual survey of 800 compliance professionals globally asked firms about their biggest compliance-related pain points (Figure 1) – 45% said […]
Digital banks don’t face fundamentally different typologies or risk profiles to other financial institutions. However, their digital-first approach, rapid growth rate and focus on seamless onboarding can make them appealing targets for money launderers. Here, we explore the top typologies […]
Financial sanctions are an important tool in the global fight against financial crime. Governments around the world use sanctions to restrict and prohibit trade with foreign targets as a means to achieve political objectives or punish violations of international law […]
This report will explore the state of financial crime in 2021 so far across three key areas:
Geopolitics and sanctions
Regional regulatory trends
The regulation of cryptocurrencies and innovation in decentralized finance (DeFi)
An isolated and heavily restricted totalitarian state, North Korea engages in a range of cyber activities that violate international law, including conducting illegal cyber operations around the world. Ongoing international sanctions against North Korea prohibit a broad range of economic […]
In the United States, geographic locations that present a particularly high risk of money laundering and financial crime may be designated high-risk money laundering and related financial crime areas, also referred to as high-intensity financial crime areas (HIFCA). Intended to […]
High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) are designations made by the United States government for areas of the country that experience a particularly high volume of drug trafficking. HIDTA programs are intended to help law enforcement agencies in the fight against […]
IPT Africa’s compliance team can now make informed decisions about client risk, escalate potential high-risk cases, and take actions in real-time, which ultimately shortens the time it takes to onboard new customers.
