Globalization of economies and financial systems not only stimulates the growth of national GDPs, the development of the labor and capital markets, but also creates the prerequisites for the growth of transnational crime. The problems of transparency of financial flows went beyond national borders.
Galina Bobrysheva, Deputy Director of the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring, thinks that the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing is one of the most sensitive, because the criminal proceeds obtained in one country are taken away from the place where they were obtained in order to legitimate the type of their use, possession and disposal.
New challenges and threats, including drug trafficking, especially Afghan drug trafficking, terrorist groups, of course, such as ISIS, embezzlement of budgetary funds, many other areas, are forcing the countries to look for new mechanisms of cooperation, promote cooperation and attract new partners.
According to Bobrysheva, the operation ‘Channel’ continues to be widely regarded as one of the most successful projects in the region, which is held under the auspices of the Collective Security Treaty Organization with the participation of law enforcement agencies and financial intelligence units of the Eurasian group. It helps to stop activities related to drug trafficking. And this, as we know, is the most profitable part of transnational crime. Use of the anti-money laundering body to fight the drug trade not only allows for a financial trail to enter the distribution network, but also to identify the financial centers, the formation of profit, which is usually located away from the paths of movement of drugs.
Meanwhile, Internet payments are used more and more, and payments are gaining momentum, such types as the virtual currency Bitcoin. “If in the fight against drug trafficking a component of the commodity gained extensive international experience, the problem of identifying financial flows and assets of drug trafficking is relatively new and not fully understood,” the expert says.
Experts believe tht Afghan drug trafficking is the main threat to the region, as well as ISIS’s activity. Financial resource support for terrorism technologies increasingly begins to use new types of payment and new financial products. “First of all, online payments, crowdfunding technology, that is, mass collection of donations with the publication of the details of accounts on the Internet. The use of electronic purses, payment terminals and mobile payments, allowing money to be transfered and accumulated virtually anonymously and instantly, poses a serious threat. Such schemes make the financing of terrorist activities more accessible, not only for the perpetrators and organizers, but also for voluntary donors, radical people who did not previously participate in the activities.”
