Tracking the $3.1 Trillion Financial Crime Pandemic
Tracking the $3.1 Trillion Financial Crime Pandemic
From money laundering to fraud, financial crime acts as a drain on the economy, totaling an incredible $3.1 trillion. This puts everyone—from businesses to individuals—at risk.
This graphic, created in partnership with Inigo, breaks down the largest sources of financial crime, using data from Nasdaq’s 2024 Global Financial Crime Report.
Organized Crime Takes the Top Spot
The largest source comes in the form of organized crime, which covers a wide range of activities including corruption, money laundering, and fraud. In total, illicit activities under this umbrella account for $1.96 trillion.
| Criminal Activity | Total ($ billions) |
|---|---|
| Organized Crime: Corruption, Money Laundering, etc. | 1,958 |
| Drug Trafficking | 783 |
| Human Trafficking | 347 |
| Terrorist Financing | 12 |
Specifically, fraud is one of the largest areas of organized crime, with global annual losses approaching $500 billion. This category includes the likes of fraudulent investments, impersonations, and faulty insurance claims, among others.
Geographically, the damages are spread fairly evenly across the Americas ($653.4 billion), Europe, the Middle East, and Africa ($613.9 billion), and Asia-Pacific ($690.8 billion).
Indeed, organized crime has been on the rise globally. Every single country reported an increase in overall levels from 2021 to 2023, according to the Global Organized Crime Index.
Other Types of Crime
The next two largest sources of finance-related crime are drug trafficking, accounting for $783 billion, and human trafficking, at $347 billion. Both have devastating impacts on individuals, families, and entire communities. These crimes also occur at similar levels across different regions of the world.
Terrorist financing ranks fourth, totaling $12 billion. The Americas lead the way, accounting for $5.1 billion, compared to $3.7 billion in EMEA and $2.7 billion in Asia-Pacific.
Track the Risks
Organized financial crime is a $2 trillion covert drain on the economy. Inigo’s Financial Institutions experts proactively track financial crime risks, uncovering data-driven insights to expose hidden threats and empower wealth protectors to act decisively.
Visit Inigo for a data-driven view of risk.
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