FATF

Arms trafficking in South East Asia has diversified considerably in recent years, moving beyond the legacy weapons from past conflicts that have long saturated the region, and increasingly intersecting with other illicit economies. These changes contributed to an uptick in the region’s arms trafficking score between 2021 and 2023 (4.82 to 5.23 out of 10), according to the Global Organized Crime Index, with the largest increases seen in Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. 

From 16 to 20 June, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) jointly delivered the Anti-Fraud Intelligence Analysis training (AFIA2025) in Budapest, Hungary.

On 19 May 2025, Lithuania filed a case against Belarus at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Alexander Lukashenko’s regime of breaching the UN Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air through what is described as ‘alleged’ involvement in enabling irregular migrant flows to the country. Shortly after, at the 34th session of the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Vienna, Belarus’s delegation refuted the accusations. In their statement, the delegation alluded to the relatively small number of irregular migrants entering the EU via Belarus when compared with the numbers entering from the Balkan, Mediterranean and other smuggling routes. 

In 2024, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) recommended the recovery of more than €870 million in misused EU funds, according to its annual report released today.

Nearly 500 civilians have already been killed or seriously injured by returning veterans, the majority of whom were criminals who enlisted with Wagner or the Russian army. One particularly shocking case involves a man convicted of murder, paroled to fight in Ukraine, and released again—only to kill once more. Other veterans have joined criminal gangs or formed new ones, bringing battlefield discipline and combat skills to Russia’s underworld.

Since 2018, Türkiye has become the primary destination for Europe’s plastic waste, absorbing more than half of the EU’s total plastic waste exports. This shift follows tightening regulations in Asia and exposes the EU’s persistent recycling deficiencies. While most shipments are labelled as “clean recyclables,” this report examines a darker reality: widespread misclassification, corruption, and the enabling of transnational organized crime. 

More than 90% of firearms in Türkiye are unlicensed. In Greece, over half of all weapons are unregistered. And in Bulgaria, Turkish-manufactured gas guns transit legally before being converted into lethal weapons in EU countries.

Cyber scam operations have surged across Southeast Asia since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, evolving into a transnational organized crime crisis of staggering proportions. In this report, we expose the inner workings of scam compounds and the sophisticated criminal ecosystem sustaining them. 

On 20 May 2025 and over the following days, Irish customs authorities seized over 4000 electric bikes and a number of e-scooters worth €4,5 million illegally imported into the EU during targeted searches at two warehouses. The operation followed coordinated efforts by the European Anti-Fraud Office.

The European Anti-Fraud Office organised the inaugural meeting of the Waste Shipment Enforcement Group on 22-23 May in Warsaw, Poland. The event brought together over 50 stakeholders from across the EU and beyond in a joint effort to thwart the growing threat of illicit trade of waste.

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), the Romanian Police and Romania’s Department for the Fight Against Fraud (DLAF), are hosting European anti-fraud specialists in Bucharest to discuss the use of digital tools to fight fraud against the EU budget.

On 7 May 2025, reports emerged that the US was preparing to deport irregular migrants to Libya. While no deportations had occurred as of mid-May, and the US government has neither confirmed nor denied such plans, the potential for expulsions has raised urgent concerns among international observers, particularly regarding Libya’s fragility, human rights conditions and entrenched criminal economies. 

In recent years, Ecuador’s gold sector has transformed dramatically. Once a largely informal livelihood, artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) has evolved into a criminally exploited industry. This report investigates this transformation and the illicit gold supply chains that are fueling it.

Three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the prospect of a ceasefire—or even a fragile peace—has thrust policymakers, civil society actors, and donors into a race to anticipate what comes next. Organized crime networks will not wait for the answers. The cessation of fighting – in whatever shape it may take – will provide fertile conditions for criminal evolution, encompassing demobilized veterans, displaced citizens, excess weapons, and vast reconstruction funds. The GI-TOC Eurasia Observatory (EAS-Obs) has issued a policy brief named “Crime and Peace: The future of organized crime beyond the Russo-Ukrainian War” that traces the five key criminal risk areas: People, Control, Expertise, Hardware, and Money. A three-part webinar series will introduce these risk areas, work through their potential trajectories and discuss what responses may be effective.

The Commission has developed an overview of the illicit drug environment in Eastern and Southern Africa, together with a set of findings, recommendations and actions relating to improving the regional response.

More than 100 anti-fraud experts from across the European Union met this week in Finland for the 2025 Helsinki OLAF Conference aimed at defining the next chapter in EU anti-fraud action.

In the last fifteen years, there has been a concerning increase in illegal wildlife trade (IWT) on the internet. However, the lack of comprehensive data about the scale of this market, its dynamics, operations, and global effects presents a significant challenge in addressing this crime. To tackle this issue, ECO-SOLVE has developed a Global Monitoring System (GMS) designed to systematically track online IWT worldwide and collect data that can assist law enforcement and inform policymakers. The GMS consists of a network of data hubs in countries where the domestic online markets are considered the most significant or impactful in their regions. National monitoring nodes will be established gradually, and the network's size and capacity will expand with each edition of the Global Trend Report.

The UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) held its 34th session in Vienna from 19 to 23 May. This followed the tumultuous March session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), where the current political shifts in the US were on full display. Despite the financial and political crises being experienced by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and its policymaking bodies, all the CCPCJ resolutions were adopted by consensus, in stark contrast to how the CND played out.

Ghana is one of the world’s leading gold producers, and artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) plays a crucial role in the country’s economy and the livelihoods of its people. Many miners turn to gold extraction due to limited alternative livelihoods and the relatively high incomes it offers compared to agriculture or informal work. However, much of this activity remains unlicensed and informal, making it vulnerable to criminal exploitation and environmental degradation. 

The past quarter has seen major incidents of taxi and gang-related violence, concentrated in areas such as Vrygrond, Hanover Park and Ottery. Our research team has started a mapping exercise, gathering granular data on gang territories across the City of Cape Town. This aims to shed light on how criminal control in different neighbourhoods shapes patterns of violence.

Peacekeeping is in crisis. Despite a dramatic rise in violent conflicts in many parts of the world, the United Nations has not deployed a new peace mission since 2014. Several large operations have been closed or scaled down, while others are facing financial cuts. Meanwhile, organized crime remains absent from the agenda, even though it is one of the greatest threats to peace and security in almost every theatre in which peace operations are deployed.

In early 2025, a Europol-backed operation took down two of the world’s largest cybercrime forums. The platforms, Cracked and Nulled, had rapidly amassed over 10 million users, and facilitated criminal discussion, illicit trade and the sale of cybercrime services. Investigators estimated that they had generated around €1 million in profits. The incident underscores a critical trend identified in the latest Global Organized Crime Index: the criminal exploitation of online spaces, which is growing at ‘breakneck speed’.  

The synthetic opioid crisis has reshaped the landscape of organized crime, public health, and security across North America. Drawing on the expert dialogue held in April 2025, this report explores cross-border dynamics, policy gaps, and recommendations to strengthen regional responses. It presents a timely and evidence-based overview of the evolving fentanyl market in Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

This international conference was convened in recognition of environmental crimes as threat multipliers to an increasingly fractured and vulnerable planet. They pose threats to not only the environment, but also public health, security, political stability, the rule of law, human rights, sustainable development, food security, livelihoods, habitats, cultural heritage, and the global economy and integrity of the international financial system.