Combatting child sexual abuse and exploitation: The IEWG Project Report is now available
The Egmont Group is pleased to report that the Information Exchange Working Group (IEWG)’s “Combatting child sexual abuse and exploitation through financial intelligence: Project report” and the corresponding public bulletin are now available.
About the CSAE project
The online streaming of child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) is a horrific crime that causes significant harm to individual children, and the wider society in which it pervades. Supported by technological advancements and the reach of global networks, CSAE is a crime that targets the most vulnerable members of societies – children. Noting that online streaming of CSAE is a crime often underpinned by financial transactions, this positions Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) as key partners for law enforcement agencies (LEAs) to fight CSAE.
The IEWG’s CSAE project sought to develop and consolidate the strategic intelligence picture associated with payments relating to the online streaming of CSAE. The data from Egmont Group member FIUs and other sources, including private sector entities, provided the project team with an understanding of financial transactions suspected to be linked to online CSAE.
The resulting financial indicators and keywords produced within the CSAE project can be used by FIUs to proactively identify financial transactions likely to be linked to the online streaming of CSAE within their datasets. The key findings of this project will enable FIUs to better contribute to efforts to tackle online streaming of CSAE, including options for more effective handling of intelligence and the types of information exchanged with the private sector. Building on the findings of the reports, FIUs will be able to provide LEAs with more actionable intelligence relating to the movement of funds and the identification of both offenders and facilitators of CSAE.
Jointly-led by AUSTRAC, Australia, UKFIU, United Kingdom and AMLC, Philippines, this project is the result of collaboration with INTERPOL and the FIUs from:
- Canada
- Denmark
- France
- Germany
- Guatemala
- Isle of Man
- Indonesia
- Latvia
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- Nigeria
- Norway
- Peru
- Seychelles
The following private sector entities were involved in the project:
- American Express
- MoneyGram
- PayPal
- TransferWise
- Western Union
- WorldRemit
The report’s Public Bulletin can be accessed here.
