Illegal Wildlife Lucrative online trade & Money Laundering- Vijaylaxmi Iyer, CFCS

The global threat of habitat destruction and overexploitation of endangered and near to extinct wildlife species remain among the largest direct perils – and are most probably caused due to illegal wildlife trade & trafficking. While openly available data indicates that millions of wild flora and fauna species are sold for a range of purposes and a large proportion of it seems absolutely legal, the fact is that an astonishingly large proportion of this trade falls under the illegal category.

 

Illegal wildlife & wildlife products trade is currently the fourth largest crime after drug trafficking, money counterfeiting and human trafficking. Over 50% of the global wildlife population has already disappeared in a matter of the past 50 years (Source: WWF). Furthermore, a recent IATA study (International Air Transport Association, 2019) has estimated the illegal wildlife & wildlife products trade to reach USD 19 billion by this year’s end.

 

While these trade & trafficking activities are directly responsible for rapid extinction of the world’s most targeted wildlife species, their rarity itself is the driver that accounts for people’s curiosity and interest in them. They are considered beautiful and lucky charm by many, thus driving traders to readily invest millions in them (Source: USAID). Consistently mounting interest in exotic wildlife, specific wildlife products, and their massive returns in black market remain prime forces for the proliferating world of wildlife trading & trafficking.

Biodiversity reserves in East Asian, Southeast Asian and Central American countries, according to USAID, continue to be the most vulnerable hotspots. China, Hong Kong, Africa, Vietnam, Thailand, Bangkok, and Indonesia are some of the topmost hotspots for illegal wildlife trade activities. The Philippines remains infamous hub of IWT, whereas Germany has rapidly developed as a trade & trafficking hub – especially for reptiles. Russia has been a strong ground for such activities, specifically for traders dealing in tortoises, turtles, endangered bird species, primates, big cats and bears.

Online trade growing more lucrative

With advent of technology, unbridled network connectivity, internet penetration and growing power of social media, illegal wildlife lucrative online trade is growing at an incredibly rampant pace. Not a new trend anymore, illegal online trading & trafficking of wild flora and fauna has surpassed traditional means of organized crime groups to conveniently enter openly available online marketplaces. Solid ecommerce expansion and expanding role of social media channels in running businesses further make it easy for these illegal agents and traders to get more elusive.

 

Dark web (or darknet), although still considered the marketplace of last resort, is increasingly being considered the future of illegal wildlife lucrative online trade. It remains pivotal in the build-up of such trading networks without even being noticed or scrutinized by most of the conscientious population that spends most of a day’s time online (Source: Forrester). It is thus, unsurprisingly, considered a high–income low–risk organized crime and is extremely popular.

 

Recent records of International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW, 2017) highlighted that there were over 12,000 threatened and endangered specimens that were up for sale in the year - just within the six months’ time span. The research dug deeper and presented a report that showed aforementioned sale via nearly 6,000 advertisements and posts over various online marketplaces and social media platforms.

The money laundering angle

Apart from tigers, rhinos and elephants, pangolins continue to be among the most sought-after wild animals traded both legally and illegally. Bears, snakes, lizards, leopards, monkeys, turtles, alligators, and hundreds of bird species also make it to the list of most widely traded wildlife for a range of purposes such as consumption, to tusks, skin, leather, scales, and medicinal attributes. Illegal poaching, tree species trading and wildlife trafficking have been prominent means of money laundering for over the decades. Most money laundering is conducted in cash because of its nearly invisible audit trail. It is typically transmitted through anonymous shell companies for washing illicit funds. The current pandemic is only worsening links between illegal trade & trafficking of wildlife and money laundering.

 

According to a report by World Bank Group (2011), the US doesn’t collect adequate beneficial ownership information, making it preferred locations for setting up these vehicles. Another report by Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (2016) provides evidence, reinforcing the idea that money laundering is not a primary – or often, even a tangential focus. Wildlife trafficking investigations prominently point out that a majority of reported cases clearly indicate that the persons involved were charged merely for the offense of trafficking. The angle of money laundering however was conveniently overlooked in both East Africa and Asia Pacific region.

 

These are organized crime networks that comprise a number of individuals with their own responsibilities and roles in maintaining uninterrupted and highly confidential functioning of their networks. Selling and purchasing more than often take place through middlemen who are trained to operate fake/fictitious/anonymous social media accounts by using any throwaway email ids. While traders meticulously maintain their transaction records to circumvent taxes, systematically hidden identities make their financial transactions difficult to trace and even harder to catch. Apart from social media, traders and agents widely operate through secret closed groups.

 

Illegal Online Wildlife Traders and Traffickers Caught in the Philippines

It’s a fact that the Southeast Asian region has been a hotbed of illegal wildlife trading and trafficking activities through online platforms. The Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand are especially witnessing a thriving trend of online wildlife trade which is illegal. However, the Philippine authorities have been garnering praises recently in the light of multiple seizures of illegally traded and trafficked wildlife that are recorded during 2017-2020.

Multiple high-profile arrests were carried out in 2017 in the Philippines, which recorded seizures of protected native bird species of hornbills and Brahminy kites. In September 2019, a wanted criminal into illegal business of online wildlife trading was first caught after several years of tracing, in Manila. More than a dozen unlicensed wild animals were seizure in this operation, including two Eclectus parrots, three Peregrine falcons, two green iguanas and six African spurred tortoises. The concerned social media group that was used by the criminal for sale was archived, and administrator was inactive since then. This made the case even more challenging.

 

The same online trader was caught hidden a second time in June 2020 in Manila again, this time with several raptors possessed illegally. A sea eagle and a changeable hawk-eagle were also collected from his residence. The trader later had to face charges for illegal sale and possession of wildlife in form of heavy penalty and imprisonment for four years (Source: TRAFFIC).

 

While authorities have said it time and again that nabbing illegal wildlife traders who operate online is more like snatching shadows, recent successful cases in the Philippines would offer a ray of motivation to wildlife enforcement agencies in Southeast Asian countries.

 

About the Author

Vijaylaxmi Iyer, CFCS is an acclaimed professional with over 12 years of experience across multiple sectors and having a deep understanding of global AML/KYC policies and procedures.