Organized Crime, Illegal Trafficking and Illicit Financial Flows

Countering Organized and Fighting all Forms of Illegal Trafficking and Illicit Financial Flows

Transnational organised crime and illicit financial flows, including trafficking and stolen assets, have always been critical issues to address. Cross-border flows of funds and assets associated with crime, tax evasion, and corruption are diverse, and by nature, difficult to track and prosecute.

UNICRI assists and guides countries and their governments to enhance their capacities in detecting, investigating and prosecuting all forms of illicit trafficking. This includes persons, precious metals and gemstones, endangered species, counterfeit products, hazardous waste and CBRN material.

The Institute supports Member States by producing and disseminating knowledge on the evolution of organized crime strategies, the connections between different forms of illegal trafficking, and the related illicit financial flows. Furthermore, it contributes to the research and analysis of the key drivers behind the illicit movements of funds and provides governmental agencies with up-to-date technical knowledge on how to better prevent, counter and predict organized criminal activities and to better trace, freeze, seize, confiscate, and recover assets linked to major acts of corruption.

UNICRI also supports Member States in dealing with the infiltration of organized crime into the legal economy, providing countries with tools to address the phenomenon and its socio-economic impact while supporting them in improving their legal and investigative responses. In this way, countries are able to strengthen their policies, capacities and cooperation to counter organized crime and fight all forms of illicit trafficking and illicit financial flows, as well as to reinforce the legal economy and sustainable development.

Main outcomes of the interventions:

1. Increased regional and international cooperation in combating transnational organized crime and in detecting, investigating and prosecuting all forms of illicit trafficking.
2. Improved capacity of Member States to better trace, freeze, seize, confiscate and recover assets linked to major acts of corruption.
3. Strengthened, coherent policies for combating illicit financial flows, addressing existing gaps in their conceptualization, estimation and analysis.