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The Diplomat
5 days ago
- Business
- The Diplomat
FATF is Behind the Curve on Cambodia's Cyber-scam Compounds
According to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, Cambodia-based scamming operations are generating billions of dollars in illicit profits each year. The global Financial Action Task Force (FATF) watchdog has yet to publicly grasp the dangers posed by the growth of cyber-scam compounds, including converted casinos, in Cambodia since the COVID-19 pandemic. Financial controls at Cambodian casinos were identified as an area of concern by the Paris-based FATF in a mutual evaluation report as far back as 2017. The report found that the Cambodian sectors most vulnerable to money laundering were casinos, along with the real estate, legal, and remittance and banking sectors, due to a lack of regulatory supervision. The FATF added Cambodia to its 'grey list' in February 2019, but removed the country from the list in February 2023. Yet a further mutual evaluation report in August 2023 found that: 'Weaknesses remain with fit and proper tests of casinos, lawyers, and accountants.' This was no simple loophole. The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that cyber-enabled fraud caused financial losses of between $18 billion and $37 billion in 2023, most of it due to scams by organized crime groups in Southeast Asia. Cambodia, along with Myanmar, is a major scamming hub. UNODC in January 2024 reported that COVID-19 led to the repurposing of Cambodian casinos into cyber-scam compounds as regular business dried up. Yet Cambodia and other countries in the region, according to UNODC, 'pay virtually no attention' to casino junket operators, despite 'widespread misuse of these businesses for large-scale money laundering and underground banking by transnational organized crime groups.' I recently interviewed FATF president Elisa de Anda Madrazo for the Financial Times publication 'Banking Risk and Regulation.' She pointed to cases of the authorities in Cambodia and Malaysia cooperating to make arrests of members of organized crime gangs suspected of human trafficking. Such arrests have not been enough to dent the capacity of the compounds. In April 2025, the UNODC found periods of increased law enforcement activity in Cambodia have 'dampened the expansion of these industries in some more visible and accessible locations' but have also prompted 'significant expansion in more remote locations.' De Anda Madrazo said that Cambodia's next assessment will start 'in the next few years' and will assess how it is dealing with 'emerging threats.' Cyber-scam compounds in Cambodia and the region could fairly be classified as an established, rather than an emerging, danger. De Anda Madrazo herself said that 'cyber-enabled fraud is a major transnational organized crime that has grown exponentially in recent years.' Nigel Morris-Cotterill, a financial crime risk strategist based in Malaysia, argues that routine corruption needs to move up the agenda. Financial crime, he says, 'happens in large part because of corruption. And it persists because of lack of resources, especially in countries which have poorly paid law enforcement.' The basic police salary in Cambodia in 2024 stood at 1,306,550 riel ($326) per month. As in many other poor countries, bribes of all kinds are routinely taken to increase income. Police corruption in Cambodia is part of the much broader issue of the rule of law. The 2024 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index puts Cambodia at 141 out of 142 countries globally. The existence of industrial-scale cyber-scamming increases the possibilities for police on low pay. Amnesty International last month documented 20 cases of compounds in Cambodia which were the subject of one or more police and/or military interventions, but found that human rights abuses continued at the compounds even after the visits. When the police or military intervened, they would rescue only a small number of individuals in response to specific requests for help. The 'rescues' were largely controlled by scamming compound bosses, and were nothing like a 'raid.' The police would typically meet a boss at the gate, who would hand over the pre-requested individual. Amnesty also found evidence of collusion between police and compound bosses prior to the raids. In one case, two trafficked victims were moved immediately before a government 'crackdown' in Sihanoukville. There was no rush by the police to help the 'rescued' victims. Most survivors of scamming compounds interviewed by Amnesty spent two to three months in police detention centers, without being questioned in detail about their experiences. Some victims have reported that the police were willing to sell them back to the compounds for the right price. Low-level corruption, Morris-Cotterill says, receives little attention from the FATF. The reason, he says, is that 'there's no money in pursuing it: the entire counter-money laundering approach changed in the early 2000s from being a crime reduction measure to being about confiscation.' 'If policing is all about expenditure and revenue, which is what confiscation has come to be about, then policing has become a business, not a public service. This, as much as corruption, is a reason that crime is not deterred or detected.' De Anda Madrazo argued that being taken off the grey list doesn't make a country immune to financial crime. Morris-Cotterill sees a need for the FATF to rethink how it approaches the problem. 'The little stuff doesn't matter in the big policy-making forums,' he said. 'I find that disturbing.'
New York Post
03-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Violent gangs have ‘near-total control' of Haiti's capital, UN says
Haiti's criminal gangs have exerted 'near-total control' over the capital, as escalating violence pushes the Caribbean nation 'closer to the brink,' senior U.N. officials warned Wednesday. Gangs control an estimated 90% of Port-au-Prince, Ghada Fathy Waly, executive director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, told the U.N. Security Council. Waly noted that gangs are expanding into previously peaceful areas. Advertisement 'Southern Haiti, which until recently was insulated from the violence, has seen a sharp increase in gang-related incidents,' she said. 'And in the east, criminal groups are exploiting land routes, including key crossings like Belladere and Malpasse, where attacks against police and customs officials have been reported.' U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca informed the council that 'the ongoing gang encirclement of Port-au-Prince' and their strengthened foothold in the capital and beyond is 'pushing the situation closer to the brink.' 4 According to Ghada Fathy Waly, executive director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, gangs control an estimated 90% of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. AP 4 Armed members of the G9 and Family gang stand guard at their roadblock in the Delmas 6 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in March 2024. AP Advertisement 4 Security guards stand watch as Haiti's Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime, center, talks with Mexico's Charge d'Affaires Jesus Cisneros in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on June 26. AP 4 Protesters make their way to the Villa d'Accueil to demand increased security from the government, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on April 2, where over one million people have been displaced by gang-related violence in the country. AFP via Getty Images Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! 'Without increased action by the international community, the total collapse of state presence in the capital could become a very real scenario,' he warned. Advertisement Gangs have gained power since President Jovenel Moïse's assassination in July 2021, previously controlling 85% of the capital. Haiti has not had a president since the assassination. A new U.N. report covering last October through February highlights that gangs have exploited political turmoil and Haiti's disorganized security response, saying competing political ambitions and corruption allegations within transitional governing bodies have hindered action. 'While the expansion of territorial control brings gangs additional sources of revenue and bargaining power,' the U.N. experts said in the report, 'these attacks are also backed by individuals trying to destabilize the political transition for their own political goals.' Advertisement The U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory for Haiti in September 2024, warning Americans against visiting due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest and limited healthcare. In May, the Trump administration designated two of Haiti's most powerful gang networks, Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif, as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists.
02-07-2025
- Politics
Haiti's gangs have 'near-total control' of the capital as violence escalates, UN says
UNITED NATIONS -- Haiti's gangs have gained 'near-total control' of the capital and authorities are unable to stop escalating violence across the impoverished Caribbean nation, senior U.N. officials warned Wednesday. An estimated 90% of the capital Port-au-Prince is now under control of criminal groups who are expanding attacks not only into surrounding areas but beyond into previously peaceful areas, Ghada Fathy Waly, executive director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, told the U.N. Security Council. 'Southern Haiti, which until recently was insulated from the violence, has seen a sharp increase in gang-related incidents,' she said. 'And in the east, criminal groups are exploiting land routes, including key crossings like Belladere and Malpasse, where attacks against police and customs officials have been reported.' Waly said the state's authority to govern is rapidly shrinking as gang control expands with cascading effects. Criminal groups are stepping into the vacuum left by the absence or limited delivery of public services and are establishing 'parallel governance structures,' and gang control of major trade routes has paralyzed legal commerce, leading to soaring prices for cooking fuel and rice, Haiti's staple food, she said. U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told the council 'the ongoing gang encirclement of Port-au-Prince' and their strengthened foothold in the capital and beyond is 'pushing the situation closer to the brink.' 'Without increased action by the international community, the total collapse of state presence in the capital could become a very real scenario,' he warned. Gangs have grown in power since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021 and previously were estimated to control 85% of the capital. Haiti has not had a president since the assassination. A U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police arrived in Haiti last year to help quell gang violence, but the mission remains understaffed and underfunded, with only about 40% of the 2,500 personnel originally envisioned. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' proposal in February to have the U.N. provide drones, fuel, ground and air transport and other non-lethal support to the Kenya-led mission has languished in the council. In response to the gangs, the UNODC's Waly said there has been a rapid growth in the number and activities of private security companies and vigilante self-defense groups, with some trying to protect their communities while others act illegally and collude with gangs. 'Over the last three months," Jenca said, "these groups reportedly killed at least 100 men and one woman suspected of gang association or collaboration.' He said the last three months have also seen an increase in sexual violence by gangs with the U.N. political mission in Haiti documenting 364 incidents of sexual violence involving 378 survivors just from March to April. A new report by U.N. experts covering the period from last October through February said the gangs have exploited political turmoil and the disorganized response to Haiti's security crisis, pointing to competing political ambitions and allegations of corruption within Haiti's transitional governing bodies that have stymied action. 'While the expansion of territorial control brings gangs additional sources of revenue and bargaining power,' the experts said, 'these attacks are also backed by individuals trying to destabilize the political transition for their own political goals.' One major result is that very little progress has been made toward restoring public security or implementing the roadmap for organizing national elections by February 2026, the experts monitoring an arms embargo on Haiti and sanctions against key gang leaders said in the report to the Security Council. With a weak national police force facing acute tensions in its leadership, an army that needs rebuilding, and the limited ability of the multinational force, the experts warned that the gangs will continue 'to have the upper hand unless stronger international support is provided.' As for vigilante groups, the experts said, they 'often include local police officers, some of whom actively participate in human rights violations.' The Haitian National Police have also carried out 'a worrying number of extrajudicial killings … with suspected gang members often summarily executed,' the experts said, pointing to 281 summary executions by specialized police units in 2024 including 22 women and 8 children. Despite the U.N. arms embargo on Haiti, gangs continue to obtain more powerful weapons not only from regional civilian markets but from police stockpiles in Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic, the experts said.
Japan Today
26-06-2025
- Japan Today
Global cocaine market hits new record highs: UNODC
Global cocaine seizures recorded a high of 2,275 tons, marking a 68 percent rise in the four years to 2023 Cocaine production, seizures and use all hit record highs in 2023, the U.N. drug agency said on Thursday, with the illicit drug's market the world's fastest-growing. Illegal production jumped to 3,708 tons, nearly 34 percent more than in 2022, and more than four times higher than 10 years earlier, when it was at a low, the Vienna-based U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in its annual report. The current surge is mainly due to an increase in the size of the area under illicit coca bush cultivation in Colombia and updated yield data, it added. Global cocaine seizures, too, recorded a high of 2,275 tons, marking a 68 percent rise in the four years to 2023. The number of cocaine users also grew to 25 million in 2023, up from 17 million ten years earlier. "Cocaine has become fashionable for the more affluent society," UNODC chief researcher Angela Me said, noting a "vicious cycle" of increased use and production. While Colombia remains the key producer, cocaine traffickers are breaking into new markets across Asia and Africa, according to the report, with organized crime groups from the Western Balkans increasing their influence. "A new era of global instability has intensified challenges in addressing the world drug problem, empowering organized crime groups and pushing drug use to historically high levels," UNODC noted. In 2023, six percent of the population aged between 15 and 64 are estimated to have used a drug, compared to 5.2 percent of the population in 2013. Cannabis remains the most widely used drug. Seizures of amphetamine-type stimulants also reached a record high in 2023, making up almost half of all global seizures of synthetic drugs, followed by synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, UNODC said. The fall of ruler Bashar al-Assad in Syria last December has "created uncertainty around the future of the captagon trade", UNODC added. Earlier this month, Syria said authorities had seized all production facilities of the illicit stimulant, which became Syria's largest export under Assad. "The latest seizure data from 2024 and 2025 confirm that captagon is continuing to flow -- primarily to countries of the Arabian peninsula –- possibly indicating the release of previously-accumulated stockpiles or continued production in different locations," UNODC said. © 2025 AFP
The Hindu
26-06-2025
- The Hindu
Global cocaine boom keeps setting new records, UN report says
The global cocaine trade keeps setting new records, with cocaine the world's fastest-growing illicit drug market as Colombia production surges along with users in Europe and North and South America, a United Nations report published on Thursday (June 26, 2025) said. The annual U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime's (UNODC) World Drug Report showed that in 2023, the latest year for which comprehensive data was available, the cocaine trade went from strength to strength. "Production, seizures, and use of cocaine all hit new highs in 2023, making cocaine the world's fastest-growing illicit drug market," the Vienna-based UNODC said in a statement. On the supply side, global estimated illegal production of cocaine rose by around a third to a record of more than 3,708 tons, mainly because of an increase in the area devoted to illicit coca bush cultivation in Colombia and updated data that showed the yield there was roughly 50% higher than in 2022. The estimated number of cocaine users globally also kept growing, reaching 25 million people in 2023, up from 17 million 10 years earlier, the UNODC said. "North America, Western and Central Europe and South America continue to constitute the largest markets for cocaine, on the basis of the number of people who used drugs in the past year and on data derived from wastewater analysis," it said. The synthetic drug market also continues to expand, helped by low operational costs and reduced risk of detection for those making or smuggling the drugs, the UNODC said. The leading drugs there were amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) like methamphetamine and amphetamine. "Seizures of ATS reached a record high in 2023 and accounted for almost half of all global seizures of synthetic drugs, followed by synthetic opioids, including fentanyl," the UNODC said.
