There is a high chance of effectively combating illicit trade in 2021. Last August, Crime Stoppers and the World Customs Organization (WCO) for the Americas and the Caribbean signed a cooperation agreement, which represents an opportunity to dismantle economic illicit activities and the crime that benefits from them.
But what does this joint action entail? Crime Stoppers Caribbean, Bermuda and Latin America director Alejo Campos told Customs News The initiative is to bring this international civil organization closer to the WCO in order to better support administrations with a regional logic, taking advantage of the fact that its Vice President, Werner Ovalle, is the Customs Superintendent of Guatemala. Crime Stoppers and SAT-GT have years of experience working together against smugglers and counterfeiters.
Alejo Campos assured that “cross-border dynamics will be addressed through concrete actions linked to sharing information on illicit trade at a regional level.” He stressed that the WCO will coordinate the actions, while Crime Stoppers will organize the work it is already doing with customs to harmonize successful experiences in terms of internal regulations with the Model Law on Illicit Trade and Transnational Organized Crime in order to reach each customs office, through the WCO, in the implementation of a regional public policy.
Crimes
Regarding the crimes that the new agreement will combat, Alejo Campos stressed that the exchange of information will focus on smuggling (especially of cigarettes, alcoholic beverages and medicines), customs fraud (linked to money laundering through trade) and counterfeiting. “In Central America, many falsifications of customs documentation are appearing,” he said.
First phase
The agreement, Campos explained, will initially focus on Central America and the customs of neighboring countries such as those in the Caribbean, Colombia and Mexico. "These latter countries have porous borders," he said.
Future actions
When asked about future actions, the Director of Crime Stoppers explained the launch of the following activities:
- Diploma in eLearning on Illicit Trade and International Organized Crime based on the Parlatino Model Law. ”The course is designed in three levels with different topics. The last one will be face-to-face with experts to learn how to put together the information from the previous levels. When they pass the three levels, they will be granted a validation from the United Nations University for Peace. In addition, scholarships will be managed for customs in the Americas region through the WCO.”
- One-stop shop for anonymous reporting on cross-border illicit trade for Latin AmericaHe clarified that "the information will be received by the WCO and forwarded to the corresponding customs authorities. The interesting thing is that this information, for example, which involves three countries, can automatically be shared with those three countries so that each one can generate the relevant alerts in their systems."
- Regional smuggling operations.
- Meeting of legislators from eleven Latin American countries. He explained that the event of Crime Stoppers and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation will be in Panama to discuss money laundering, corruption and organized crime. He stressed that “the idea is to make recommendations on how legislation can be harmonized in the countries because we have to speak the same language at a regional level.”
Challenges
Finally, the Director of Crime Stoppers highlighted a significant point: the challenges of the new cooperation agreement with Latin American customs authorities.
“One challenge is to start receiving anonymous information from the private sector through the Latin American single window with the WCO,” said Alejo Campos. He added: “A transparent dialogue between customs authorities in the region will be vital to ensure that illicit trade does not continue to flow across borders through money laundering, corruption and asset forfeiture. We are ready to do our part.”
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
