Moneyval, the Financial Action Task Force-style body of the Council of Europe, has published a report detailing how wars create opportunities for illicit income that is laundered or used to finance terrorism and weapons proliferation. The document highlights that war financing increasingly relies on evasion, cryptocurrency, and online scams, alongside traditional schemes, and notes that these challenges track with advances in financial technology and cross-border flows. Beyond offshore shell companies and opaque trusts, the report points to the purchase of high-tech goods, microelectronics, and intermediary shipping routes used to obscure the true purpose of flows. Cybercrime is a major focus, with malware, phishing, vishing, and other attacks threatening data security and critical infrastructure.
Crowdfunding platforms are also flagged as being exploited to fund military objectives. The report draws a line between war, money laundering and tax crimes, outlining schemes that include fictitious invoices, nominees, and loopholes in double taxation treaties. It also highlights illegal online gambling as a channel for misappropriating funds and evading taxes through forged merchant codes and disguised payments. Cryptocurrencies are cited for their potential to facilitate sanctions evasion and illicit transactions across arms, drugs, and gambling markets.
Moneyval recommends freezing funds, confiscation, and stronger international financial intelligence and information sharing, while acknowledging uneven enforcement across jurisdictions. The study calls for better data exchange and risk-based supervision to close gaps in countering conflict-related money laundering and terrorist financing, emphasizing the need for coordinated action and enhanced geopolitical risk analysis.
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