Wildlife trafficking. Illegal mining. Hazardous substance trafficking.
These are all known as environmental crimes, and according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, they’re on the rise.
The department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a warning Thursday (Nov. 18) about an uptick in these crimes and their associated unlawful financial activity.
FinCEN said in a press release that it is highlighting the trend due to its ties to corruption and criminal organizations, both FinCEN priorities, as well as a need to enhance reporting and analysis of these sorts of financial crimes and their contribution to the climate crisis.
“Global environmental crimes are estimated by some international organizations to generate hundreds of billions [of dollars] in illicit proceeds annually and now rank as the third-largest illicit activity in the world following the trafficking of drugs and counterfeit goods,” FinCEN said in the release.
The organization cited figures from Interpol in the release estimating that the total proceeds from these crimes are growing by 5% per year.
And in conflict zones, environmental crimes — including exploitation and theft of oil — provide around 38% of illicit income to armed groups, more than any other illegal activity, including drug trafficking, according to the release. These crimes are those that harm human health, nature and natural resources by damaging environmental quality.
“These crimes are relatively low risk activities with high rewards because enforcement efforts are limited, demand for the products and services generated by these crimes is high, and criminal penalties are not as severe as for other illicit activities,” FinCEN said in the release.
They are also associated with other criminal activities, including money laundering, theft, forgery, tax evasion, bribery, fraud, human trafficking and drug trafficking, the release stated.
Earlier this week, FinCEN unveiled its first priorities for battling money laundering and terror financing. These priorities deal with some of the more serious threats facing the U.S., although the agency said it is “particularly concerned about cyber-enabled financial crime, ransomware attacks and the misuse of virtual assets that exploits and undermines their innovative potential, including through laundering of illicit proceeds.”
Read more: FinCEN Lists Cybercrime Involving Virtual Currencies as an AML Priority
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