The Egmont Group and the Technical Assistance and Training Working Group have published their second iteration of the Best Egmont Case Award (BECA) competition’s compilation of case studies. The book, which contains 26 case studies, is called ‘Best Egmont Cases – Financial Analysis Cases 2014-2020’. The book underscores various ML/TF typologies used by financial criminals. These include bribery and corruption; cybercrime and cryptocurrency; drug trafficking; fraud and embezzlement; smuggling and gambling; trade-based ML and third-party ML; and terrorism, organized crime and human trafficking.
The book includes four bribery and corruption cases from Brunei, Peru, Philippines and Russia. Examples include a case in Brunei where judges were stealing from court-protected coffers, and the Pork Barrel Scheme in the Philippines which involved the banking and insurance sectors. Four cybercrime and cryptocurrency cases from Kosovo, Nepal, Poland and South Africa were also included. The global multi-billion cryptocurrency euro fraud case from Kosovo involved the banking and precious metals and stones sectors. Meanwhile, the case from South Africa involved a business email compromise scheme involving the motor vehicles and international real estate sectors.
Additionally, four drug trafficking case studies were included, from Bolivia, India, New Zealand and Serbia. The case from India concerned the global distribution of illegal drugs through internet pharmacies. Meanwhile, the case from New Zealand involved an organized crime group operating a methamphetamine business from prison. There are four case studies on fraud and embezzlement, from Colombia, Italy, Monaco and Namibia. The case from Italy involved embezzlement of public funds, while the one from Namibia involved fraud using cross-border electronic transactions.
Furthermore, the book discusses two cases of smuggling and gambling. One of these cases involved tobacco smuggling in Australia, and the other involved gambling with counterfeit cards and customers in Belarus. Additionally, four trade-based ML and third-party ML cases found a place in the book, from Bahrain, Israel, Korea and Mexico. The case from Israel involved cross-border ML through diamond trading, while the one from Korea involved a fake import/export ML scheme. Lastly, the book includes four case studies related to terrorism, organized crime and human trafficking. These came from Argentina, Côte d’Ivoire, Indonesia and Senegal. One of these cases was about animal trafficking by a criminal organization in Côte d’Ivoire. Another involved human trafficking in Senegal.
Overall, by publishing these case studies, BECA emphasizes the contributions of different Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) around the world in the fight against ML/TF. The case studies may also serve as important training for FIU professionals, private sector business, law enforcement and other government agencies.
Source: Egmont Group