A new report by the FACT Coalition found that many investigations into environmental crimes do not follow the money. Of the 230 cases analyzed, 76% in

Report reveals how environmental crime profits in the Amazon are laundered

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2024-11-28 15:30:16

A new report by the FACT Coalition found that many investigations into environmental crimes do not follow the money. Of the 230 cases analyzed, 76% involved the use of front and shell companies, likely due to flaws in the anti-money laundering systems of foreign countries, researchers said.

The environmental crimes analyzed occurred between 2014 and 2024 in Amazon countries, mainly in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The aim was to better understand how criminals operate and how the associated profits are laundered.

The report pointed to weaknesses in the way the investigations were carried out — for instance, a lack of financial investigations — as well as the role of convergent crime, which played a role in most cases.

“When it comes to environmental crimes that are committed in countries in the Amazon region, many cases are discovered accidentally,” Julia Yansura, the program director for environmental crime and illicit finance at the FACT Coalition and author of the report, told Mongabay over email. “A police officer happens to stop a vehicle or an airport security officer randomly checks a bag, and they find something. That approach is far from sufficient and often yields minor cases involving low-level criminals.”

One in every three cases appeared to include a parallel financial investigation, the report said. Without financial investigations, it’s hard to find out who is responsible for these crimes and who is benefiting financially, Yansura explained. Criminal groups will most likely move to a different location and continue their crimes.