Shipping industries all over the world have been essential for international trade as it plays a part in transporting the raw materials and completed commodities as well. There is a sheer number of commodities that have been moving around the world which ends up providing an unparalleled opportunity for the crooks to launder money at the same time. The shipping business is commonly utilized with the aim to tuck away unlawful transactions and fund criminal activities simply through employing strategies such as over invoicing, falsified documentation, and routing cargo through shell corporations and fictional entities etc.
Procedure of vessel tracking can prove to be really helpful in monitoring and evaluating the movements of ships throughout the world through techniques such as satellite tracking, Automatic Identification System (AIS), and other technologies also. Keeping track of vessels has made it simpler to discover odd patterns such as ships which are tied to the sanctions evasion or questionable cargo routes that could indicate unlawful activities.
How does AML vessel tracking work?
Maritime tracking with respect to anti money laundering further entails the real time monitoring of vessels which may include their positions, cargo, ownership, and related financial transactions altogether. The ability to collect and analyze data from several platforms, such as AIS, cargo manifests, shipping company databases, and trade finance systems is quite necessary when it comes to effective AML vessel screening. Oftentimes, combining various data sources plays a part for the financial firms, governments, and regulatory authorities to effectively identify possible red flags for money laundering and other criminal activity.
Automatic Identification System (AIS): AIS has been a tracking system that simply allows the ships to broadcast their particulars that consist of their name, position, course, and speed to the other vessels and relevant authorities. Practice of such a nature plays a vital role in enabling real time tracking regarding the movement of the vessel. It can nevertheless offer information about odd travel patterns or frequent port calls in high risk jurisdictions as AIS can be controlled or turned off in order to avoid detection in such a regard.
Satellite Tracking: Law enforcements and relevant authorities might monitor vessels in the type of areas where AIS data is limited or intentionally blocked in its capacity. Satellites are also well equipped to track ships in the open ocean or in places which have inadequate port infrastructure that further plays a part in extending the worldwide reach of anti money laundering maritime tracking.
Ship Ownership and Registration Information: Tracking the ownership structure of vessels has been super essential for the aim of identifying potential layers of ownership that are utilized for the tucking away of illegal activity. It has also noticed that shell corporations or complex ownership arrangements are frequently being utilized to conceal the names of the people or entities who are operating a ship. AML vessel tracking technologies have been primarily designed to find structures of such sort and identify suspect ownership trends at the same time.
Trade and Financial Transactions: The movement of goods is simply one aspect of the picture and there are many to discover. Financial organizations can avail the feature of vessel tracking data to monitor trade transactions associated with individual cargoes as well. This can include tracking of payments, letters of credit, and other financial instruments that help with the transportation of products as well. Suspicious financial behavior is more prone to raise red flags such as payments to entities in regions with relaxed AML standards.
What are the challenges to overcome in AML Vessel Tracking?
Complexity of Global Trade: The interwoven nature of international trade is more likely to make tracking vessels much more difficult in its nature as several companies are engaged in each shipment. The wide variety of goods, ports, and shipping routes has further made it difficult to detect suspect behavior and especially when scammers utilize legal trade routes to launder money or any illegal activity.
Lack of Standardised Data: One key issue is the lack of consistent data across the governments and players in the maritime and finance industries that can cause gaps in tracking vessel ownership, cargo, and financial activities. This has the tendency to end up resulting in missing or erroneous data that hinders the AML operations itself.
Integration of Advanced Technologies: While these issues tend to stay in the maritime sector, the combination of technology such as satellite monitoring, artificial intelligence, and blockchain is proven to be really strengthening for the AML vessel tracking. Solutions of such a nature might increase the real time process of data collection and help authorities to overcome the challenges that are provided by data inconsistency and evasion methods.
Implementing AML Solutions in vessel tracking can help businesses to combat maritime money laundering, ensure compliance, and address emerging risks. Discover how tech-driven solutions identify suspicious activities.
