WASHINGTON, USA —The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) convened a virtual summit to counter the transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) that illicitly profit from nature crimes in the Amazon region. The summit marked a milestone in operationalizing a partnership among the financial intelligence units of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and the United States.
Environmental crime is among the most lucrative criminal activities globally, generating around $110 to $281 billion in criminal gains each year, according to the Financial Action Task Force Report Money Laundering from Environmental Crime, issued in July 2021. Nature crimes fuel corruption, threaten biodiversity, damage fragile ecosystems, and impact public health and the economy.
“Illicit finance is not confined to national borders, and financial activity tied to nature crimes is no exception,” said FinCEN director Andrea Gacki. “Transnational criminal organizations that facilitate such crimes often exploit international boundaries to inhibit law enforcement from disrupting this illicit activity. Cooperation with our partners is a key countermeasure in preventing such organizations from profiting from their crimes.”
The summit delivered on a key commitment by secretary Janet L. Yellen, who announced an Amazon region partnership last July. Participants discussed a range of topics, including illegal deforestation; illegal mining; gold smuggling; timber trafficking; wildlife trafficking; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; and the role of transnational criminal organizations in such activity.
FinCEN has published resources to help stakeholders identify and combat environmental crimes and associated illicit financial activity. In 2021, FinCEN published FinCEN Notice FIN-2021-NTC4, which provides financial institutions with specific Suspicious Activity Report filing instructions and highlights illicit financial activity related to several types of environmental crimes such as wildlife trafficking and illegal logging, fishing, or mining. FinCEN also issued a Financial Threat Analysis report in 2021 on illicit finance related to wildlife trafficking, and has convened FinCEN Exchange events on environmental crimes and related financial activity.
Transnational criminal activity, including wildlife trafficking, is among FinCEN’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism National Priorities.
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