Illicit wildlife trafficking is on the rise; what does it have to do with financial crime?
Analysis
Moody’s KYC Report on Proliferation of Wildlife Trafficking
What’s in this report from Moody’s Analytics:
Wildlife trafficking or illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is defined as the illicit trade of protected animals or animal parts, including procurement, transport and distribution — and money laundering related to this activity.
A FinCEN analysis in 2021 found that over the preceding few years, such trafficking had risen by more than 150%, with expectations that the practice is still increasing in frequency.
Moody’s report explores this trend and what it means for corporate KYC (Know Your Customer) programs, including insights like “While laws pertaining to wildlife trafficking exist in most countries, they vary greatly in severity ranging from small fines that are less than the value of the wildlife trafficked to long sentences of imprisonment. As a result, many of these punishments are not enforced, undermining efforts to combat wildlife trafficking and contributing to its proliferation as an unlawful income source for criminals.”
