Today, the Gibraltar Financial Intelligence Unit (GFIU), in partnership with the Gibraltar Association of Compliance Officers (GACO), successfully hosted a powerful and thought-provoking workshop titled “Unmasking the Financial Flows Behind Human Trafficking.” The workshop delivered under Project Nexus, was attended by finance centre professionals, regulators, and law enforcement agencies to explore the financial mechanisms that enable modern slavery and human trafficking. It also aimed to strengthen collective efforts to detect and disrupt them. 

The workshop was delivered by Mr Stephen Farrer, a leading expert who has prioritised the fight against human trafficking since 2015. With experience spanning both the banking sector and law enforcement, Mr Farrer offered a rare perspective on the vast financial networks behind these crimes, which generate an estimated USD $498 billion annually. His presentation also covered updated revenue projections, the evolving logistics chains of trafficking networks, and the increasing role of technology and online platforms, particularly in the wake of the war in Ukraine. 

Participants also examined emerging trends, including: 

• The rise of cyber-enabled trafficking scams and compounds across Southeast Asia, and
• The growing global threat of organ trafficking. 

The workshop highlighted the importance of detecting and disrupting financial flows as a strategic tool in dismantling human trafficking networks.

Director of the GFIU, Edgar Lopez, who has previously collaborated with Mr Farrer in providing training for the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime and Interpol across the Middle East and North Africa region and Latin America, said, “Human trafficking is not just a human rights crisis, it is a financial crime of massive proportions. By following the money, we have the power to identify, disrupt, and ultimately dismantle these exploitative networks. The GFIU’s Strategic Plan emphasises the need to understand this type of predicate offence and we are pleased to have partnered with GACO and Mr Farrer to provide private and public sector professionals with the knowledge and tools to do just that.”