US-South Africa task force meets to crack down on wildlife trafficking and terrorism financing
The US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (‘FinCEN’) met with officials from South Africa and the United Kingdom for talks ‘to enhance global efforts to disrupt the financing of wildlife trafficking and reaffirm our partnership with South Africa to counter the financing of terrorism.’
The officials met in Pretoria earlier this month for the first meeting of the US-South Africa Task Force on Combating the Financing of Wildlife Trafficking.
‘The Task Force is a partnership between the U.S Treasury and South Africa’s National Treasury dedicated to combatting illicit finance related to wildlife trafficking, and representatives from United Kingdom law enforcement also joined these discussions,’ said FinCEN. The officials participated in a three-day workshop on counter terrorist financing.
‘The work of this Task Force is critically important,’ said FinCEN Acting Deputy Director Jimmy Kirby, who headed the Treasury delegation. ‘Wildlife trafficking not only impacts the environment but also generates illicit proceeds used by criminals and terrorist organizations to fund their activities. We’re proud to partner with South Africa to target this illegal and environmentally detrimental activity.’
