Project TENTACLE, led by the WCO Secretariat and funded by the U.S. Department of State – Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (DoS INL) -, aims to raise awareness of money laundering activities and schemes in the Customs area, as well as to augment the enforcement capabilities of Customs, financial intelligence units (FIUs) and police services. A joint effort with the Egmont Group for FIUs and with INTERPOL, Project TENTACLE focuses its efforts on money laundering and terrorism financing in Asia, Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
The global movement of illicit proceeds and terrorism financing are a widespread and proliferating threat to global security and to the stability of the global financial system. The International Monetary Fund estimates that the amount of money laundered on an annual basis is between USD 1.6 trillion and USD 4 trillion, which is equivalent to between 2 and 5 percent of global domestic product. The global economic impact of terrorism is also alarming. From 2008 to 2018, the yearly global economic impact of terrorism was approximately USD 58 billion[1].
Transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and terrorist organizations (TOs) perennially exploit Customs nodes for the movement and laundering of illicit money generated by their illegal activities. Customs, as the first line of defense at external borders and inland ports of entry, have a crucial mandate to identify and prevent the movement of smuggled currency/currency equivalents, gems/precious metals and other items of monetary value across international borders.
Transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and terrorist organizations (TOs) perennially exploit Customs nodes for the movement and laundering of illicit money generated by their illegal activities. Customs, as the first line of defense at external borders and inland ports of entry, have a crucial mandate to identify and prevent the movement of smuggled currency/currency equivalents, gems/precious metals and other items of monetary value across international borders.
Being cognizant of this growing threat, and the primary role that Customs play in combatting money laundering, the WCO established its Anti-money Laundering and Counter-terrorism Financing (AML-CTF) Programme in 2018 The AML-CTF Programme, which is the most recently established law enforcement programme in the Compliance and Enforcement Sub-Directorate, was created and designed to strengthen Members’ capacity to combat money laundering and illicit financial flows.
In January 2019, thanks to financial assistance from the Japanese Customs Service CCF Fund, the WCO AML-CTF Programme launched Operation TENTACLE at the WCO Asia/Pacific Regional Workshop on Anti-money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in Kashiwa, Japan. The Workshop was attended by representatives of 19 Customs services, INTERPOL and the FIU Japan.
From 26 August to 6 October 2019, a subsequent Asia-Pacific operational effort was conducted with the support of the 19 Customs services concerned, and INTERPOL’s Financial Crimes Unit. This led to the seizure and detention of over $5 million in a combination of currency and gold that were being smuggled across international borders by bad actors[2]. The operation also resulted in the arrest of 14 money launderers.
The success of Operation TENTACLE Asia-Pacific led to the establishment of Project TENTACLE, a three (3)-year effort to combat money laundering and terrorism financing in the Customs arena.
Project TENTACLE, the primary operational effort of the AML/CTF Programme, is an initiative led by the WCO Secretariat and aimed at combating bulk cash smuggling and the smuggling of gems and precious metals. Additionally, Project TENTACLE places emphasis on the advancement of money laundering and terrorism financing investigations following border seizure events, as well as collaboration between Customs services and both FIUs and police services. The WCO Secretariat conducted its first Project TENTACLE AML-CTF Workshop for Africa in September 2020, and will hold another one for Latin American countries in collaboration with INTERPOL and the Egmont Group in January 2021.
Project TENTACLE improves regional security by conducting capacity building, enforcement operations and intelligence-enhancing efforts around the world. It not only aims to raise the capabilities of Customs delivering training in detection and investigative techniques, but also strengthens members’ capabilities in financial crime intelligence and operational planning. The operational results of TENTACLE are tracked and uploaded into the FinCRIME Online library.
The FinCRIME Online Library
The FinCRIME Online library is the new WCO Customs financial crime tool and intelligence platform, hosted within the WCO Customs Enforcement Network (CEN).
- It serves as reference point for identified money laundering schemes that touch upon the Customs sector, such as the Black-market Peso Exchange, bulk currency smuggling, and trade-based money laundering (TBML) schemes.
- It highlights new trends and mechanisms for money laundering in the Customs realm, as well as concealment methods. Top Customs cases and alerts are also highlighted.
- It highlights salient, non-nominal seizure events connected to currency seizures, as well as seizures of currency equivalents, coins, gems and precious metals, and any seizures connected to TBML.
Customs-FIU Cooperation Handbook (CFCH)
The WCO and the Egmont Group jointly developed the CFCH to serve as a reference for Customs services and FIUs in combating money laundering and terrorism financing activities within the Customs arena. The WCO and Egmont Group simultaneously published the CFCH online on 27 March 2020.
The CFCH aims to enhance global joint targeting of money laundering in the Customs sector, such as bulk currency smuggling, gem/precious metals smuggling and TBML. Its objective is also to assist Customs services and FIUs around the world in creating more robust and formalized structures to combat money laundering and terrorism financing and develop better financial crime intelligence. The printed versions of the CFCH will be available in the near future in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese and Russian.
Operation TENTACLE capacity building workshops
Project TENTACLE utilizes AML and CTF experts to conduct training workshops designed to raise the skillsets of front-line Customs officers and mid-level supervisors, as well as FIU analysts, in tackling currency smuggling, gems/precious metals smuggling and Trade Based Money Laundering (TBML). The Project also draws upon experts from FIUs and INTERPOL to support its capacity building efforts.
More information
enforcement@wcoomd.org
[1] Global Terrorism Index, 2019.
[2] Individual or entity with the prior criminal conviction, or who has been sanctioned by the court or regulator.
