FATF: Virtual Assets Now a Core Money Laundering Channel, Calls for Global Action Against Scam Compounds and Related Illicit Financial Flows

November 5 — The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international organization, has released a new report titled "Disrupting the Full Chain of Illicit Financial Flows Linked to Scam Compounds," calling on countries to take coordinated global action to dismantle scam compounds and their criminal networks. The report notes that criminals launder money through channels including cash, virtual assets and instant payment platforms, and use AI, deepfakes and automation technologies to scale up their operations. Among these, virtual assets have become a core money laundering channel; in some cases, scam compounds even house dedicated over-the-counter counters for handling virtual asset exchange and domestic fund transfers. In one case, blockchain analysis found that more than $100 million in funds remitted by victims ultimately flowed into a cluster of virtual asset wallets associated with a scam compound.

To this end, FATF put forward six core principles: focusing on the broader criminal ecosystem, blocking illicit financial flows end to end, strengthening cross-sector information sharing and cooperation, rapid cross-border action (especially within 24–72 hours of an incident), a victim-centered approach, and continuously adapting to changes in criminal methods.