BELÉM - At a roundtable in Belém, the gateway to the Amazon, Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen announced the Amazon Region Initiative Against Illicit Finance to combat nature crimes. This partnership involves the Amazon basin countries of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Suriname. The initiative aims to leverage U.S. expertise and resources alongside regional partners to address the financing of nature crimes and counter transnational criminal organizations.
“Nature crimes generate hundreds of billions of dollars of illicit revenue while harming local communities and threatening critical ecosystems,” said Secretary Yellen. “These crimes fuel corruption and destabilization wherever they occur. By launching this initiative, we will help protect the integrity of the international financial system while also fighting back against a major threat to local economies and the environment.”
Globally, nature crimes are estimated to produce proceeds in the hundreds of billions annually and often involve misuse of the U.S. financial system. Given the significance of the U.S. dollar in international trade and finance, these crimes present a unique money-laundering threat concerning proceeds transiting through the U.S. financial system.
The Treasury’s 2024 National Money Laundering Risk Assessment highlighted that nature crimes overlap with corruption, drug trafficking, and transnational organized crime. In May 2024, Treasury published its Illicit Finance Strategy for 2024, which included actions to enhance efforts against nature crimes such as illegal logging and wildlife trade.
The strategy called for prioritizing targeted measures and coordination at interagency and multilateral levels to disrupt illicit finance activities related to nature crimes. In April 2024, Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued guidance for financial institutions to remain vigilant regarding environmental crimes.
Through this initiative, the United States will work with regional partners to build on the Belém Declaration and strengthen international cooperation against nature crimes. The initiative includes four key components:
1. Treasury will coordinate with Brazil to convene a regional meeting aimed at boosting cooperation on disrupting illicit finance linked to nature crimes.
2. Treasury will organize "follow-the-money" training sessions in the region to enhance capabilities for investigating money laundering by transnational criminal organizations.
3. Treasury will improve information sharing with regional partners to identify illicit finance associated with nature crimes.
4. The initiative will act as a catalyst for increased information sharing in support of joint investigations involving corrupt actors and criminal organizations engaged in nature crimes.
To read Secretary Yellen’s remarks announcing this initiative, click here.
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