Money Laundering Risks Arising from Trafficking of Human Beings and Smuggling of Migrants

Criminals are increasingly turning to the trafficking of human beings and the smuggling of migrants given the high profitability of these illegal activities. The money generated by such activities finds its way into the financial system.

The FATF has carried out a study which describes the money flows related to these two distinct problems and attempts to assess their scale. The key objectives of the report are the following:

• To assess the scale of the problem;
• To identify different trends in trafficking in human beings/ migrant smuggling;
• To identify from case studies where money laundering is occurring and what form it is taking;
• To inform law enforcement agencies on the laundering of funds coming from human trafficking/ migrant smuggling;
• To identify red flag indicators to assist financial institutions in their identification of money laundering from human trafficking/ migrant smuggling, and in the reporting of suspicious transaction reports;
• To increase the possibility of the proceeds of human trafficking/migrant smuggling being identified and confiscated, and thereby discouraging the activity of human trafficking or migrant smuggling.