Environmental crime, driven by high financial gains, has emerged as one of the most profitable forms of trans-national criminal activity. It is increasingly linked to organised criminal networks while generating significant money laundering and terrorist financing risks. This requires increased vigilance from both financial institutions and non-financial businesses and professions, which often act as gatekeepers in financial and legal transactions.

To help tackle these risks, over 100 professionals from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, representing financial institutions and non-financial businesses and professions, participated in two webinars. They discussed the important role of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing competent authorities in understanding how environmental crimes translate into concrete money laundering patterns and in strengthening mitigation measures.

During the webinar participants explored common laundering methods associated with environmental crime and red flag indicators. Discussions also highlighted how customer due diligence, transaction monitoring and the effective use of suspicious activity and transaction reports can support the early detection of suspicious financial activity.

To support these efforts, the EU/CoE joint action against economic crime has developed and disseminated tailored guidelines for financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions on applying a risk-based approach to detecting and preventing money laundering risks related to environmental crime. The guidelines outline sector-specific typologies, suspicious activity indicators and mechanisms to facilitate information-sharing between Financial Intelligence Units, law enforcement authorities and environmental agencies.

Looking ahead, the action will support beneficiaries in the Western Balkans in assessing environmental crime risks as part of their domestic money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessment processes. Overall, these efforts are expected to inform operational practices across Western Balkan countries, strengthening the region’s collective response to environmental crime and its links to corruption and money laundering.

The webinars were organised under the Action against Economic Crime in the Western Balkans, part of the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe, Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye. The Action supports public authorities in strengthening anti-corruption and anti-money laundering frameworks in line with European standards and good practices.