First Created: 25th December 2024
Money Laundering:
- Shell Companies: Companies created solely for the purpose of moving illicit funds without attracting attention.
- Money Transfer Services: Some illegitimate money transfer services may facilitate money laundering by allowing large sums of money to be transferred across borders with minimal oversight.
- Front Businesses: legitimate-looking businesses used to disguise the origins of illegal funds, such as restaurants, bars, or real estate ventures.
Drug Trafficking:
- Illegal Drug Cartels: Large criminal organizations involved in the production, transportation, and distribution of illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.
- Drug Smuggling Networks: Networks involved in smuggling drugs across borders, often using sophisticated methods to evade law enforcement.
- Street-Level Drug Dealers: Individuals or small groups involved in selling drugs directly to consumers in local communities.
Human Trafficking:
- Escort Services: Some escort services may serve as fronts for human trafficking, exploiting individuals for commercial sex work.
- Labour Exploitation Businesses: Companies that exploit workers, often immigrants, by subjecting them to unfair wages, poor working conditions, and restricted freedoms.
- Illegal Brothels: Establishments where individuals are forced into prostitution against their will.
Terrorist Financing:
- Charities and Non-Profit Organizations: Some charities may be used as fronts to raise funds for terrorist organizations under the guise of humanitarian aid.
- Hawala Networks: Informal money transfer systems used in parts of the world to move funds without traditional banking channels, sometimes exploited for terrorist financing.
- Front Companies: Legitimate-looking businesses used to funnel funds to terrorist organizations or individuals.
Organised Crime:
- Racketeering Enterprises: Organizations involved in various criminal activities such as extortion, illegal gambling, and loan sharking.
- Illegal Gambling Operations: Underground casinos, sports betting rings, or online gambling sites operating without proper licensing.
- Arms Trafficking Networks: criminal organisations involved in the illegal trade of firearms and weapons.
Illegal Gambling:
- Underground Casinos: unlicensed gambling establishments that operate outside of regulatory oversight.
- Online gambling sites: websites offering gambling services without proper licensing or compliance with gambling laws.
- Sports Betting Rings: Illegal operations that facilitate betting on sports events without proper authorisation.
Counterfeiting:
- Counterfeit Currency Operations: Groups involved in the production and distribution of fake currency.
- Counterfeit Goods Manufacturers: Companies that produce fake versions of branded products, often sold at lower prices on the black market.
- Document Forgers: Individuals or organizations that create counterfeit documents such as passports, driver’s licenses, or identification cards.
Fraudulent Schemes:
- Ponzi Schemes: Investment schemes that promise high returns to investors but use funds from new investors to pay returns to earlier investors.
- Pyramid Schemes: Similar to Ponzi schemes, but with participants recruiting others to join the scheme and make payments, with promises of future returns.
- Investment scams: various fraudulent schemes that deceive individuals into investing in fake or nonexistent ventures, often promising unrealistic returns.