Tackling Financial Flows from Illegal Wildlife Trade in East Asia

The illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is a major form of transnational organised crime, generating annual income of between $7 billion and $23 billion a year for the criminal syndicates involved. Wildlife crime threatens biodiversity, fuels corruption and impacts public health and the economy.

Yet despite the scale and seriousness of this growing crime type, both public and private sectors in key jurisdictions afflicted by IWT have failed to act against the financial flows linked to IWT in line with the degree of risk. Failure to scrutinise the financial footprint left by syndicates engaged in IWT means that vital opportunities to disrupt their activities are being missed.