The money trail behind migrant smuggling
UNODC
People may pay anything from USD 20 to USD 25,000 to be smuggled across borders. They often pay the price in hopes of achieving a safer future and a better life, but smuggling can also expose migrants to dangerous journeys, extortion and abuse. What is less visible is the journey that the money takes. Every payment made to a smuggler sets in motion a complex financial chain involving brokers, suppliers, facilitators, service providers, corrupt officials and, in some cases, money launderers. Understanding how these funds move is key to identifying, disrupting and prosecuting migrant smuggling networks. The new research brief Typology of the Financial Aspects of Smuggling of Migrants developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) sheds light on the financial mechanisms that sustain migrant smuggling operations and highlights opportunities for law enforcement authorities to follow the money and dismantle criminal networks.
