Money laundering fuels everything from terror finance and sanctions evasion to human trafficking and corruption. However, experts warn that our anti-money laundering efforts are on the brink of failure, as law enforcement only interdicts less than one-half of one percent of the trillions of dollars laundered each year. We need a new approach to addressing money laundering and the dangerous threats to our safety and security from the crimes funded through illicit finance.
FACT applauds the reintroduction of the FOREST Act, which would add illegal deforestation as a specified unlawful activity, or “predicate offense” for money laundering, empowering U.S. law enforcement to better track down and combat environmental crime.
As COP28 kicks off, FACT policy fellow Luke Rowe argues that the fight against dirty money from environmental crimes holds lessons for current efforts to ensure the integrity of the energy transition.
FACT Policy Fellow Sofia Gonzalez interviewed Bram Ebus, Lead Journalist and Research Coordinator at Amazon Underworld, on his work investigating illegal gold mining in the Brazilian Amazon and the secrecy systems that allow illegal gold to make its way to U.S. markets.
FACT launches its latest report analyzing the linkages between U.S. financial secrecy and environmental crimes, the UK passes the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, and the EU Tax Observatory releases a new global tax evasion report.
Click here to read the FACT Coalition’s latest report analyzing the ways in which U.S. financial secrecy helps abet and reward environmental criminals in the Amazon region.
FACT’s latest report assesses critical gaps in the U.S. anti-money laundering framework that have made the country a safe haven for illicit financial flows from environmental crimes.
