The Top 10  Most Difficult Countries for Identity Verification

The Top 10  Most Difficult Countries for Identity Verification

Download Report

    n-img-roi-cross

    Before You Go, Schedule Your Free Demo Today

    Valid Invalid number


    Note: Fields marked with an asterisk(*) are mandatory.

    n-exit-img-roi-cross

    Thank you for your demo request

    We appreciate your interest and look forward to discussing how our solution can meet your needs. Expect to hear from us shortly with scheduling details.

    Close

    us

    51.8.102.210

    Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Solutions – Securing Luxury Goods and Curbing Financial Crimes

    b-img-lux

    Exotic cars, designer clothes, artifacts, and private jets make attractive news headlines and movie scenes when it comes to luxury goods and financial crimes. However, they are although not always appear at the end-point or integral part of a money-laundering operation which is integration, in which the black money is placed into the legal financial systems, particularly banks, whether it originates through offshore accounts or any other means. In addition to this, money launderers instead of integrating illicit funds into legit businesses or stocks, go for high-value goods such as jewelry, cars, or yachts as they are viable resting places for their funds as well as help them to stay safe from getting onto regulatory radars.

    Due to this reason, the luxury goods industry is now becoming subject to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulation. The global regulatory authorities are trying their best to legislate strict laws to curb money laundering and other financial crimes, as millions and billions of dollars are wasted each year, which make up around 2-5% of global GDP. thus resulting in impacting the world economy.

    Money laundering and Luxury Goods

    China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America are among the nations that run the world’s biggest luxury market generating trillions of dollars each year. However, according to the recent reports of Europol’s financial intelligence authority “From suspicion to action: converting financial intelligence into greater operational impact.” In it, the pan-European agency said: “Banks…are the source of the majority of suspicious transaction reports sent to the financial intelligence units. Certain sectors are noted for their low levels of reporting, in particular high-value goods dealers.” Yet, Europol has ranked luxury goods dealers as the least frequent reporting category of “designated non-financial business.

    b-img-info

    Real-Life Money Laundering Cases:

    Operation Car Wash

    Brazil’s law enforcement authorities conducted an “operation car wash”, in which suspects of money laundering through luxury goods were uncovered. The Petrobras scandal, named after the state-run oil company that became the target of a money-laundering probe, has led investigators to raid the homes of various deputies, senators, and government officials. At various residences in Brasilia and Sao Paulo, the law enforcement authorities found luxury cars and money. In addition to this, an additional raid was also conducted on the former president Fernando Collor de Mello’s home, in which a Ferrari, a Porsche, and a Lamborghini were recovered as per police investigations.

    LA’s Fashion District and Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE) Scheme

    Other than luxury goods, the fashion sector is also prone to financial crimes. Clothing lines inspired by images of drug cartels like Pablo Escobar appear to symbolize drug trafficking. Due to this reason, now money launderers are using fashion and clothing to wash their black money.

    At the end of 2020, around 35 fashion companies were suspected in two schemes, one involved imported clothes in which over $10 million in customs duties was not paid, and the other one, called Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE) scheme where the business was said to have engaged in money laundering and drug trafficking. The company also didn’t pay a tax return of over $17 million that was obtained in cash.

    However, this was not the first time, regulatory bodies have highlighted BMPE to be involved in money laundering and drug trafficking activities. Back in 2014, US law enforcement bodies executed various warrants against BMPE as part of “ Operation Fashion Police” and around $140 million worth of criminal assets were seized. 

    Global Regulatory Regime To Secure Luxury Goods Market

    As luxury goods are widely being used by criminals to wash black money, hence, there is a growing need for unified anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulations in order to secure the market. Criminals usually invest their illicit funds in real estate, sports or exotic cars, jets, and other expensive items, to remain off the radar. But makes it quite difficult for the law enforcement authorities to determine the source of income. On another hand, stolen assets also make their way to the luxury goods market. Usually, the items are purchased in different jurisdictions from those funds that have been laundered. However, global financial regulatory bodies like FATF, FinCEN, FINTRAC, and various others have come up with strict AML laws to curb the risk of money laundering through luxury goods.

    Regulatory Proposals in Canada

    According to the FATF Mutual Evaluation Report or Canada, published in 2016, luxury goods dealers were identified, which included auction houses, exotic cars, art, antiques, etc as highly vulnerable to the potential risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. In 2018, the Standing Committee on Finance of Canada’s House of Commons issued a report ‘Confronting Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing: Moving Canada Forward’, which included 32 recommendations regarding additions and modifications to the country’s money laundering and terrorist financing act. Under this Act, all luxury goods dealers are subject to anti-money laundering regulations in Canada.

    The report recommends that “Federal, provincial, and territorial governments should collaborate to close the loophole regarding the transaction of sales between parties who are not subject to PCMLTFA reporting requirements, which creates vulnerability for money laundering to occur.”

    In addition to this,  the Canadian government has also been allowed to create a Trade Fraud and Trade-Based Money Laundering Center of Expertise within the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Canada’s customs service. Furthermore, FATF recommendations and the country’s  AML Act mandate luxury goods dealers to incorporate risk-based AML programs, ensure customer due diligence for customers, enhanced due diligence for customers in high-risk jurisdictions along with monitoring and reporting suspicious activities to the financial watchdog, FINTRAC.

    European Union AML Directive 

    The European Union came up with various types of AML directives, aiming to completely eradicate the money laundering and terrorist financing activities across Europe. The Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD)  mainly focused on increasing the transparency in transactional operations, whereas, in the Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (6AMLD) regulatory bodies harmonize the approach that EU Member States use to counter money laundering by defining the “predicate offense” associated with money laundering while setting forth minimum sanctions and increasing criminal liability to legal entities.

    Under 6AMLD, the entities that are involved in luxury goods dealing and tend to carry out transactions of EUR 10,000 or more, the customers must be verified. However, 6AMLD makes AML screening and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) compulsory for all businesses dealing with luxury items. Furthermore, 6AMLD also contains requirements to enhance the cooperation between the EU Member States to curb the money laundering activities and provide more harsh fines and penalties for AML/CFT failings.

    How shufti Pro Can Help

    As money laundering and terrorist financing crimes are increasingly growing and criminals are washing black money through luxury goods, dealers need to comply with anti-money laundering regulations.

    Shufti’s state-of-the-art anti-money laundering screening services are ideal solutions for businesses to stay put with the ever-evolving AML regulation regime while screening customers against 1700+ global financial watchlists with 98.67% accuracy in less than a second.

    Want to know more about AML screening services?

    Related Posts

    Blog, Identity & KYC

    User as Owner: Why KYC Software Needs to Respect Privacy Laws?

    User as Owner is a simplistic concept that stipulates that all the data of any user collected by ...

    User as Owner: Why KYC Software Needs to Respect Privacy Laws? Explore More

    Blog, Identity & KYC, Reg Tech

    RegTech: The Case for Financial Inclusion

    The FinTech industry has grown tremendously in recent years, introducing both scale and efficienc...

    RegTech: The Case for Financial Inclusion Explore More

    Blog

    Risks of Vaccine Verification Apps & What IDV Industry can Offer

    COVID-19 has brought enough changes to make the world smarter. Businesses and customers migrating...

    Risks of Vaccine Verification Apps & What IDV Industry can Offer Explore More

    Blog

    40 Surprising Facts and Statistics About Money Laundering [2021 Update]

    Combatting money laundering is one of the top-tier challenges when it comes to the regulatory reg...

    40 Surprising Facts and Statistics About Money Laundering [2021 Update] Explore More

    Blog, Identity & KYC

    GDPR versus Identity Verification – Are you Ready?

    If you are an organisation that is based in the EU or are doing business with companies in the EU...

    GDPR versus Identity Verification – Are you Ready? Explore More

    Blog

    Top 7 Trends Shaping the Future of Gambling Industry in 2023

    Amidst technological advancement and the changing regulatory landscape, the gaming sector demonst...

    Top 7 Trends Shaping the Future of Gambling Industry in 2023 Explore More

    Blog, Identity & KYC, Reg Tech

    RegTech: The Case for Financial Inclusion

    The FinTech industry has grown tremendously in recent years, introducing both scale and efficienc...

    RegTech: The Case for Financial Inclusion Explore More

    Blog

    OCR Solution: A Must-have for Every Business to Automate Workflows

    Moving documents and files from one format to another is necessary during transactions and busine...

    OCR Solution: A Must-have for Every Business to Automate Workflows Explore More

    Blog, Online Marketplace

    The Importance of Know Your Customer for Crowd Funding and ID Verification Service

    In today’s world where most business and financial transactions are taking place online, the impo...

    The Importance of Know Your Customer for Crowd Funding and ID Verification Service Explore More

    Blog

    Age Verification: Use Cases, Significance and Regulations

    This pillar post talks about the significance of digital age verification, how it works, what are...

    Age Verification: Use Cases, Significance and Regulations Explore More

    Blog

    Rising Social Media Scams in 2020 Calling for Digital Identity Verification

    Social media was a simple place for interaction a few years back. People valued it for its securi...

    Rising Social Media Scams in 2020 Calling for Digital Identity Verification Explore More

    Blog, Identity & KYC

    7 Ways to Protect Your Children from Identity Theft

    Living in the digital world, the word “Identity theft” makes us more than a little nervous. Knowi...

    7 Ways to Protect Your Children from Identity Theft Explore More

    Blog, Identity & KYC, Online Marketplace

    Why 2 Factor Authentication is vital for Online Identity Risk Management?

    Online identity risk management is becoming harder and harder on cyberspace. It is a headache for...

    Why 2 Factor Authentication is vital for Online Identity Risk Management? Explore More

    Blog

    How Shufti’s KYC Solution Can Ensure Compliance and Help in Battling Identity Fraud

    With booming technology and rapid digitization, a large number of businesses are adopting the dig...

    How Shufti’s KYC Solution Can Ensure Compliance and Help in Battling Identity Fraud Explore More

    Blog

    e-IDV | Electronic Verification Checks For Ultimate Fraud Prevention

    The first paper-based photo identity document was in May 1876, developed by William Notman for th...

    e-IDV | Electronic Verification Checks For Ultimate Fraud Prevention Explore More

    Blog

    Facial Recognition Kiosks: A Modern Innovation in the Food Industry?

    Background of Technological Advancement Technology is regarded as a new way of thinking or doing ...

    Facial Recognition Kiosks: A Modern Innovation in the Food Industry? Explore More

    Blog, Business Technology

    Identity Verification Fuels Growth of Ride Sharing Industry

    The ride-sharing industry is growing at a huge pace. As per Orbi’s research, the ride-shari...

    Identity Verification Fuels Growth of Ride Sharing Industry Explore More

    Blog

    7 Trends in Identity Verification Solutions to look for in 2020

    Internet is an anonymous space where people can hide their identities and come up with bizarre ps...

    7 Trends in Identity Verification Solutions to look for in 2020 Explore More

    Blog

    Solving the Cheating Problem in Online Gaming with Robust ID Verification Solution

    The digital gaming and esports industry has grown at an immense pace in recent years, topping 1 b...

    Solving the Cheating Problem in Online Gaming with Robust ID Verification Solution Explore More

    Blog, Fraud Prevention

    4 Fraud Prevention Tips For Your E-commerce Business this Holiday Season

    With the holiday shopping season in full swing, e-commerce fraud risk is a glaring reality that n...

    4 Fraud Prevention Tips For Your E-commerce Business this Holiday Season Explore More

    Blog

    Latest Regulatory Updates on KYC Verification for Crypto Exchanges

    Even by the standards of cryptocurrency, the volatility exhibited in 2021 has been astounding. In...

    Latest Regulatory Updates on KYC Verification for Crypto Exchanges Explore More

    Blog

    Build Trust and Secure Online Dating Platforms with Identity Verification Solutions

    Online dating scams, such as the one filmed in the recent Netflix Original documentary “ The Tind...

    Build Trust and Secure Online Dating Platforms with Identity Verification Solutions Explore More

    Blog

    A Detailed Insight into the Best Practices for Digital Currency Providers

    The world has seen an overwhelming rate of development in the cryptocurrency sector with Centrali...

    A Detailed Insight into the Best Practices for Digital Currency Providers Explore More

    Blog, Identity & KYC, Online Marketplace

    Utilising Digital Identity Verification for Imparting Better Healthcare

    The importance of patient identification and verification is crucial in the healthcare sector. Ac...

    Utilising Digital Identity Verification for Imparting Better Healthcare Explore More

    Blog

    The ‘What’, ‘How’ and ‘Why’ of Sanctions Screening | A Basic Guide

    International collaboration and cross-border transactions have become the norm in our interconnec...

    The ‘What’, ‘How’ and ‘Why’ of Sanctions Screening | A Basic Guide Explore More

    Blog

    Periodic to Perpetual KYC — The Changing Landscape in Banks

    The employment of effective Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures has long been a challenge for fin...

    Periodic to Perpetual KYC — The Changing Landscape in Banks Explore More

    Blog

    Identity verification solutions to fight against faces of fraud

    In this digital world, billions of smart devices are circulating, connecting and communicating wi...

    Identity verification solutions to fight against faces of fraud Explore More

    Blog

    KYC Verification – Defeating Anonymity on Social Media Platforms

    In the introductory phase, social media platforms were merely a small part of the internet where ...

    KYC Verification – Defeating Anonymity on Social Media Platforms Explore More

    Blog

    Secure Your Digital Presence | Combat Transaction Fraud and Cyberthreats with IDV

    Financial crimes, especially payment and transaction fraud, have seen a massive surge in recent y...

    Secure Your Digital Presence | Combat Transaction Fraud and Cyberthreats with IDV Explore More

    Blog

    KYC Compliance for DeFi Platforms – Finding the Balance for a Secure Future

    The rise of decentralized services in the form of digital asset trading platforms and DeFi consta...

    KYC Compliance for DeFi Platforms – Finding the Balance for a Secure Future Explore More

    Blog, Identity & KYC, Online Marketplace

    Utilising Digital Identity Verification for Imparting Better Healthcare

    The importance of patient identification and verification is crucial in the healthcare sector. Ac...

    Utilising Digital Identity Verification for Imparting Better Healthcare Explore More

    Blog

    A Brief Insight into Social Media Scams – How Shufti’s IDV Solution Helps

    There is no doubt that social media has its benefits in contemporary times. With the growing tech...

    A Brief Insight into Social Media Scams – How Shufti’s IDV Solution Helps Explore More

    Blog

    Employee Verification – First Line of Defence Against Corporate Fraud

    One day you wake up to the fact that the employee you’ve been trusting for years has been embezzl...

    Employee Verification – First Line of Defence Against Corporate Fraud Explore More

    Blog, Online Marketplace

    How the Rise of ID Verification Promises Trillions of Dollars for Online Marketplace?

    The affliction of cybercrimes and online frauds has reached such high proportions that the cost o...

    How the Rise of ID Verification Promises Trillions of Dollars for Online Marketplace? Explore More

    Blog

    4 Ways How Technology Can Simplify KYC and AML Workflow Management

    While the terms AML and KYC are used interchangeably, there is a huge difference between the two....

    4 Ways How Technology Can Simplify KYC and AML Workflow Management Explore More

    Blog

    Halloween Scams – Watching Out for Tricks, Identity Fraud, and Financial Crime

    Halloween is one of the most awaited and celebrated events in a large number of countries across ...

    Halloween Scams – Watching Out for Tricks, Identity Fraud, and Financial Crime Explore More

    Blog

    COVID-19 Pandemic – What it holds for businesses?

    The year of the Rat, 2020, didn’t get a propitious start because of the deadly coronavirus outbre...

    COVID-19 Pandemic – What it holds for businesses? Explore More

    Blog

    Enhanced Due Diligence: Identifying High-Risk Customers in the Banking Sector

    The digitisation of our world and economies have introduced greater ease and efficiency to our pr...

    Enhanced Due Diligence: Identifying High-Risk Customers in the Banking Sector Explore More

    Blog

    Securing Cryptocurrency Sector and Fighting Financial Crimes With Shufti’s AML Solution

    A decade ago, digital currencies were an academic concept, largely unknown to the world’s general...

    Securing Cryptocurrency Sector and Fighting Financial Crimes With Shufti’s AML Solution Explore More

    Blog, Fraud Prevention

    Looking for Online Fraud Prevention: Here Is What You Can Do

    In an increasingly digital world, it is extremely important for online businesses to identify fra...

    Looking for Online Fraud Prevention: Here Is What You Can Do Explore More

    Blog

    COVID Passports – Bringing Convenience to the Travel & Tourism Sector

    “Sorry, the earth is closed today.”  Tony Stark’s sarcastic dialogue became the worst possible re...

    COVID Passports – Bringing Convenience to the Travel & Tourism Sector Explore More

    Blog

    Document Verification Services – The Secret Sauce to Keep Fraudsters Away

    Forging someone’s documents is something bad enough but selling them on the dark web is just rubb...

    Document Verification Services – The Secret Sauce  to Keep Fraudsters Away Explore More

    Blog

    E-Signature Verification | Why Businesses Should Consider Adopting It

    Physical paperwork is a thing of the past now. It is a time and labour-intensive task that requir...

    E-Signature Verification | Why Businesses Should Consider Adopting It Explore More

    Blog, Identity & KYC

    How AML/KYC Direct Credible ICO Growth?

    What if I told you, early in the days of ICOs, startups operated with little to no top level regu...

    How AML/KYC Direct Credible ICO Growth? Explore More

    Blog

    The Top 10 Benefits of the Know Your Customer Lifecycle

    In this digital age, where transactions occur remotely and identity theft is rising, establishing...

    The Top 10 Benefits of the Know Your Customer Lifecycle Explore More

    Blog

    The Future Of the Financial Sector in the Gulf Region

    Digital transformation, that has undoubtedly disrupted numerous industries worldwide, has reached...

    The Future Of the Financial Sector in the Gulf Region Explore More

    Blog

    The Top Customer Onboarding Tips for Businesses

    Today every business is competing to boost their retention rate and offer their audience a secure...

    The Top Customer Onboarding Tips for Businesses Explore More

    Blog

    How Deepfakes Deceptions are Affecting Businesses

    The word deep fake comes from the terms “deep learning” and “fake,” and is a type of artificial i...

    How Deepfakes Deceptions are Affecting Businesses Explore More

    Blog

    Trade-Based Money Laundering – How Shufti’s AML Screening Solution Helps

    International trading instruments have significant features that are making them potentially attr...

    Trade-Based Money Laundering – How Shufti’s AML Screening Solution Helps Explore More

    Blog

    6 Upcoming Trends In Blockchain And Cryptocurrency For 2021

    2020 was unlike any other year. It was chaotic, happening, and has finally come to an end. In the...

    6 Upcoming Trends In Blockchain And Cryptocurrency For 2021 Explore More

    Blog

    eKYC: Transforming ID Verification for Enhanced Security and A Seamless Customer Experience

    Governments have mandated various businesses, including financial institutions, to thoroughly und...

    eKYC: Transforming ID Verification for Enhanced Security and A Seamless Customer Experience Explore More

    Blog

    Strengthening digital businesses with online age verification

    It is projected that by the end of 2021, 2.4 billion will buy products and services online, up 46...

    Strengthening digital businesses with online age verification Explore More

    Blog, Business Technology, Fraud Prevention, Identity & KYC

    Face Verification – One Solution for Several Identity Frauds

    Biometrics is the technology that verifies the unique personality traits of a person to identify ...

    Face Verification –  One Solution for Several Identity Frauds Explore More

    Blog

    10 Ways to Eliminate Business Fraud with Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

    One of the prime concerns of businesses today is detecting and mitigating the risk of fraud. This...

    10 Ways to Eliminate Business Fraud with Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Explore More

    Blog

    A Brief Insight into the AML and CFT Framework of Thailand

    Thailand has become quite a popular and well-reputed financial hub, attracting investors worldwid...

    A Brief Insight into the AML and CFT Framework of Thailand Explore More

    Blog

    How Shufti Identity Verification User Experience Impacts Business Outcomes

    User experience (UX) isn’t only about design or even metric-driven decision making. It’s a busine...

    How Shufti Identity Verification User Experience Impacts Business Outcomes Explore More

    Blog

    FinTech and FinCrime – The Global Regulatory Landscape

    Also known as financial technology, FinTech is now among the fastest-growing industries. This sec...

    FinTech and FinCrime – The Global Regulatory Landscape Explore More

    Blog

    A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs)

    Identifying UBOs and their control over a business is crucial for financial firms to meet regulat...

    A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs) Explore More

    Blog

    KYC Checks in Crypto | A Key to Secure Digital Assets

    In the last thirteen years, the crypto industry has redefined the financial sector. At the same t...

    KYC Checks in Crypto | A Key to Secure Digital Assets Explore More

    Blog

    Securing Gig Economy Operations and Contributing to the Growth with KYC Solutions

    Startups, SMEs, and the gig industry have seen unprecedented growth. Not to mention, COVID-19 was...

    Securing Gig Economy Operations and Contributing to the Growth with KYC Solutions Explore More

    Blog

    How Will Simplified Due Diligence SDD Help Industries in 2024?

    For businesses, the due diligence process is an integral part of the Know Your Customer programme...

    How Will Simplified Due Diligence SDD Help Industries in 2024? Explore More

    Blog

    Rise of Money Laundering in UAE – How Financial Institutions Can Comply with New Regulations

    The UAE certainly earned its spot in the top 10 global financial centers with unprecedented growt...

    Rise of Money Laundering in UAE – How Financial Institutions Can Comply with New Regulations Explore More

    Blog

    Assessing the Importance of Digital Identity Verification in On-Demand Services

    Dealing with the after-effects of the coronavirus pandemic, digital business platforms and e-comm...

    Assessing the Importance of Digital Identity Verification in On-Demand Services Explore More

    Blog

    Age Verification: Data Privacy and User Protection

    In recent years, there’s been a lot of speculation surrounding the issue of whether or not ...

    Age Verification: Data Privacy and User Protection Explore More

    Blog, Fraud Prevention

    ID Verification Trends to Curb Online Frauds

    Automated Identity Verification Can Play a Significant Role in Fraud Management Fraud management ...

    ID Verification Trends to Curb Online Frauds Explore More

    Blog, Financial Crime / AML

    South Korea want Crypto Exchanges to adopt Digital KYC and AML Compliance

    South Korea is soon going to adopt regulatory measures to bring in crypto exchanges under regulat...

    South Korea want Crypto Exchanges to adopt Digital KYC and AML Compliance Explore More

    Blog, Fraud Prevention

    What is Loan Fraud and How to Detect it?

    Loan fraud simply means when someone uses your identity to illegally obtain a loan. The crime has...

    What is Loan Fraud and How to Detect it? Explore More

    Blog

    Brazil’s Updated Regulatory AML Guidelines for 2023

    Money laundering, corruption, and drug trafficking are prevalent issues in Brazil, the world’s se...

    Brazil’s Updated Regulatory AML Guidelines for 2023 Explore More

    Blog, Business Technology

    How Blockchain is Making the World a Better Place

    Verify identity: The whole world lives online now. Yes, that’s an exaggeration but we are gradual...

    How Blockchain is Making the World a Better Place Explore More

    Blog

    Cryptocurrency Exchanges and negative KYC Compliance

    KYC & AML Compliances are not being upheld by almost 68% of the cryptocurrency exchanges arou...

    Cryptocurrency Exchanges and negative KYC Compliance Explore More

    Blog

    NFTs and Surging Crimes – How Shufti’s AML/KYC Solution Can Secure The Digital Ecosystem

    Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are by far one of the most popular topics right now. Artist Mike Winke...

    NFTs and Surging Crimes – How Shufti’s AML/KYC Solution Can Secure The Digital Ecosystem Explore More

    Blog

    5 Ways How Online Age Verification Promises Growth for the Gaming Industry

    The online gaming industry is booming since the last few years. Due to the pandemic, the trend fo...

    5 Ways How Online Age Verification Promises Growth for the Gaming Industry Explore More

    Take the next steps to better security.

    Contact us

    Get in touch with our experts. We'll help you find the perfect solution for your compliance and security needs.

    Contact us

    Request demo

    Get free access to our platform and try our products today.

    Get started