31 percent of the offenses on the basis of money laundering in 2020 were fraud, deception and forgery, according to data from the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Authority, in a report it published, which reveals the state of economic crime during the Corona period.
According to the data, the leading area of criminal activity linked to the commission of money laundering and terrorist financing offenses in 2020 is fraud, deception and forgery, which constitutes almost a third of the volume of offenses identified - 31.5%. In addition, the field of tax offenses continues to be a significant field of activity with about 18.5%, along with bribery and public corruption, which constitute about 14.1%, and terrorist acts and their financing, which constitute about 9%.
In light of the challenges of the corona plague and the consequent increase in risks to the financial system, there has been a significant increase in the number of "reports of unusual activity", ie activity that is not typical of customers' normal activity patterns and may be related to money laundering or terrorist financing.
In 2020, more than 112,000 reports of unusual activity were received, an increase of about 10% compared to 2019. The source of about 86% of the unusual reports is in the banking system and financial service providers (47% and 39%, respectively), and approx. 14% of other reporting sectors.
Among the major trends observed during 2020, the year of the corona, was observed a significant increase in the volume of fraud offenses committed in the online space.
As is well known, the corona crisis has led to the acceleration of the transition from traditional banking to "technological" banking, an increase in the use of electronic means of payment, online and digital banking, online lending, the purchase of virtual assets and more.
The scams have grown online // Photo: GettyImages,
Along with these changes, the criminals also moved to "work from home" - the terrorist organizations and criminals not only did not reduce activity during the crisis, but also used it to increase their activity, taking advantage of diverting the attention of various actors and undermining public safety.
According to the head of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Authority, Dr. Shlomit Wegman-Ratner: "The past year has been challenging for the PA and the State of Israel: the criminals have also moved to 'work from home', with the Corona virus creating 'business opportunities' for criminals.
"Also this year, the authority conducted dozens of economic investigations and supported them, in Israel and around the world, which led to indictments, apprehension and forfeiture of criminals' money on a huge scale."