As part of its efforts to help safeguard vulnerable individuals around the world, the Liechtenstein Initiative for Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking (FAST Initiative) at the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research and ACAMS have launched a second free training certificate to aid compliance professionals seeking to identify and report financial activity tied to human traffickers with a focus on sexual exploitation. Developed with the support of the social justice organization Polaris, the Fighting Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking Part 2: US Sex & Exploitation Cases, offers an overview of how anti-money laundering (AML) compliance efforts can assist law enforcement officials in fighting sex trafficking and exploitation in the United States.
The initiative builds upon the foundational training offered in Part One of the Fighting Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Certificate program that was launched in June 2020, by retroactively analyzing the financial networks underpinning five human trafficking networks that have been successfully prosecuted in U.S. courts. Through the lens of anti-financial crime compliance, applicants will gain insights into the products, transactional patterns, red flags and internal controls linked to sex trafficking activity, including real-life examples of the exploitation of retail and commercial bank accounts, residential and commercial real estate, personal and merchant credit card accounts, payment processing firms, crowdfunding platforms, money services businesses and cryptocurrency exchanges.
In addition to learning how to distinguish between simple and complex human trafficking methodologies, participants will receive guidance on identifying relevant suspicious activity by examining tax-lien information, import-export proprietorships, cashier’s check deposits, credit card chargebacks, funnel-account activity and other means.
“Modern slavery and human trafficking are estimated to generate $150 billion in illicit proceeds annually and a substantial portion of that sum comes from the sexual exploitation of vulnerable women, men and children across the world,” said ACAMS President and Managing Director, Scott Liles. “This free certificate program is designed to help compliance professionals and law enforcement officials achieve a goal we should all want to see accomplished: putting an end to sex trafficking.”
“Whether you participated in our foundational human trafficking program or are a seasoned professional looking to expand your investigatory techniques, this certificate will help you follow the money trail back to the trafficking syndicates that are putting your institution and individuals across the globe at risk,” he said.
FAST Project Director, Daniel Thelesklaf said: “Modern slavery and human trafficking remains a big business worldwide and the financial sector has an important role in combating such crimes. The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic fallout have further exacerbated vulnerability to such forms of exploitation, specifically those related to sex trafficking. Now more than ever, we must work in partnership to raise awareness and take action, as we are doing again with ACAMS on this second phase of our certificate program geared at financial sector professionals.”
More than 10,800 financial sector professionals from nearly 160 countries and territories around the world have enrolled in the first certificate that was launched in June 2020.