Free trade zones (FTZs) across Latin America and the Caribbean are vulnerable to illicit trade, according to a detailed and comprehensive new OECD report, Free trade zones and illicit gold flows in Latin America and the Caribbean. It focuses on… Read More ›

FTZs
Lessons from Venezuela’s illicit gold trade applicable to IFFs more widely says Brookings
Difficulties associated with tracing illicit gold flows and the large number of actors involved in gold smuggling have contributed to a crisis with limited chances to even engage in efforts to address the issue of illicit financial flows (IFFs) from… Read More ›
Banks should include all forms of TBML in compliance processes says new NGO
Financial institutions should include all forms of trade-based money laundering (TBML) in their standard due diligence, record keeping, and financial intelligence reporting according to a new report by a recently formed national security non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Washington. The… Read More ›
TBML and FTZs allowing IFFs to proliferate across Latin America
Trade-based money laundering (TBML) and free-trade zones (FTZs) are amongst the mechanisms that allow for illicit financial flows (IFFs) to proliferate across Latin America the UK government has said in a recently issued tender. It calls for a study into… Read More ›
Free-trade zones vulnerable to illicit trade and financial crime says RUSI paper
Free-trade zones (FTZs) can be attractive to criminal groups as well as legitimate businesses according to a paper published by the Royal United Services Institute’s (RUSI’s) Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies. The paper identifies factors that render FTZs… Read More ›
FATF concerns about UAE’s free trade zones and multiple company registries
The UAE must take urgent action to effectively stop the criminal financial flows that it attracts according to a new report from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). In its latest mutual evaluation report on the seven emirates the global… Read More ›