There are three main methods by which criminal
organisations and terrorist financiers move money for the purpose of disguising
its origins and integrating it into the formal economy. The first is through
the use of the financial system; the second involves the physical movement of
money (e.g. through the use of cash couriers); and the third is through the
physical movement of goods through the trade system. In recent years, the
Financial Action Task Force has focused considerable attention on the first
two of these methods. By comparison, the scope for abuse of the international
trade system has received relatively little attention.
The international trade system is clearly subject to a
wide range of risks and vulnerabilities that can be exploited by criminal
organisations and terrorist financiers. In part, these arise from the enormous
volume of trade flows, which obscures individual transactions; the
complexities associated with the use of multiple foreign exchange transactions
and diverse trade financing arrangements; the commingling of legitimate and
illicit funds; and the limited resources that most customs agencies have
available to detect suspicious trade transactions.
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