Posted on August, 05 2021

Manila, Philippines, 5 August 2021: The roundtable discussion was co-hosted by the TSCFP along with the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Compliance officers and anti-money laundering specialists as well as non-governmental organizations also took part in the regional virtual roundtable, “Following the Money Trails of the Illicit Wildlife Trade.”
 
Participants were introduced to tools that would help them build capacity to detect wildlife crime, such as the Ending Illegal Wildlife Trade Professional Certificate Course by ACAMS and WWF. This free, self-paced online course teaches participants how to detect, report, mitigate, and remedy the risks of illicit wildlife trade, identify trade-based schemes linked to transnational organized crime, uncover shell companies, and more. The course is now incorporated in the TSCFP’s Knowledge and Capacity Building Products. This initiative, which also reaches ACAMS’ 80,000 members globally, examines money laundering trends used in illegal wildlife trade, as well as practical examples of how governments and the private sector can tackle wildlife crime through targeted investigations. 
 
“It all comes down to understanding and awareness across all three lines of defence, and knowing what to look for,” said Gary Wilson, Senior Vice President and Country Head of Financial Crime Compliance, Thailand, Standard Chartered Bank.
 
Sessions on trends in financial flows from the illegal wildlife trade in East and Southeast Asia, trade-based money laundering in the illegal wildlife trade, and international standard and practices in identifying the ultimate beneficial owners involved in transactions were led by partners and experts from TRAFFIC, Standard Chartered Bank, the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Environmental Investigation Agency, the ADB Office of Anticorruption and Integrity, and the Anti-Money Laundering Office of the Royal Thai Government. 
 
“It takes a network to dismantle a network; and our event today is part of our strategic partnership with Asian Development Bank and ACAMS to institutionalise systems and responses to illegal financial flows associated with wildlife trafficking,” said Livia Esterhazy, Chair of the WWF Asia Pacific Growth Strategy (APGS) and CEO of WWF-New Zealand.
“Wildlife traffickers exploit weaknesses in the financial and non-financial sectors, to move, hide and launder their proceeds – thereby enabling further wildlife crimes and damaging financial integrity. One of the most effective ways to identify the broader criminal networks and reduce profits from this crime is to follow the financial trails of wildlife traffickers,” said Investment Specialist Nana Khurodze, TSCFP, Private Sector Operations Department, Asian Development Bank. 
“Today represents an important opportunity to bring these ideas forward. There is no single approach that will solve the daunting challenge of curbing illegal wildlife trade: it needs – and will continue to need – steadfast dedication, innovative approaches, and committed collaboration and cooperation at all levels of government and society,” she added.
 
Sirirut Wiwek Rattanamongkolsak, Senior Investigator at the Anti-Money Laundering Office, the Royal Thai Government, echoed these sentiments: “Co-operation is key to the successful investigation of illegal wildlife trade. At the operational level financial institutions and the private sectors should work together with the FIU, law enforcement agency, supervision agencies. NGOs or non-profit organizations are also key players who can provide a lot of intelligence in illegal wildlife trade cases.”
 
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members — 49 from the region.
 
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ENDS
Notes to Editors
The illegal trade of wildlife products is valued between $7-23 billion per year and is considered the fourth largest illicit trade after firearms, drugs, and human trafficking. However, as the last year has highlighted, its subsequent impact could be felt globally.
 
Media Contacts:
WWF International Marsden Momanyi mmomanyi@wwfint.org or news@wwfint.org
WWF-Hong Kong, Winnie Ng winnieng@wwf.org.hk or +852 96409040
ACAMS Lashvinder Kaur lkaur@acams.org +44 7388 264478
  
About WWF
WWF is an independent conservation organization, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active through local leadership in nearly 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. Visit www.panda.org/news for the latest news and media resources and follow us on Twitter @WWF_media
 
About ACAMS
ACAMS is a member of Adtalem Global Education (NYSE: ATGE), a leading workforce solutions provider headquartered in the United States. ACAMS is the largest international membership organization dedicated to enhancing the knowledge and skills of anti-money laundering (AML) and financial crime prevention professionals from a wide range of industries. Its CAMS certification is the most widely recognized AML certification among compliance professionals worldwide. Its new Certified Global Sanctions Specialist (CGSS) certification commenced in January 2020. Visit acams.org for more information.
 
About Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. It assists its members and partners by providing loans, technical assistance, grants, and equity investments to promote social and economic development.