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Claudio Marinelli explains how INTERPOL is leading the global fight against illegal gambling and financial crime

 
Claudio Marinelli explains how INTERPOL is leading the global fight against illegal gambling and financial crime
In the latest edition of the IFHA Council's quarterly newsletter on Illegal Gambling and Related Crime, INTERPOL Operations Coordinator and Head of Unit Claudio Marinelli delves into how INTERPOL is leading the global response to illegal gambling and financial crime.

In his article entitled “Game Changers: How INTERPOL is Leading the Global Response to Illegal Betting and Related Crime”, Mr. Marinelli details INTERPOL's key strategies, including the work of the Match Fixing Task Force, Operation HAECHI, and Operation SOGA, among other international initiatives. These actions not only combat illegal gambling, but also tackle associated crimes such as money laundering, human trafficking and cyber fraud.

Marinelli, who was also a member of the jury in the last edition of the Responsible Gaming and CSR Awards, highlights the importance of international cooperation in the fight against organized crime. In this same edition of the awards, INTERPOL was recognized as the “Most Committed International Institution to Responsible Gaming”, in recognition of its tireless work in protecting the integrity of the sports.
INFOPLAY |
This article is essential reading to understand how INTERPOL addresses the complex web of illicit activities that threaten not only the gaming industry, but also global financial security.

We share the full article below:


Game Changers: How INTERPOL is Leading the Global Response to Illegal Betting and Related Crime

By Claudio Marinelli, Operations Coordinator – Head of Unit, Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery, INTERPOL Financial Crime & Anti-Corruption Centre (IFCACC);
Member, IFHA Council on Anti-illegal Betting and Related Crime INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organisation, dedicated to supporting law enforcement agencies in its 196 member countries to combat all forms of transnational crime. With its truly global presence, INTERPOL provides unique support and collaboration opportunities worldwide. The INTERPOL Match-Fixing Task Force is the cornerstone of INTERPOL’s operational efforts to address financial
crime and sports-related corruption. Currently, the INTERPOL Match-Fixing Task


Force includes 110 member countries - an increase of 10 countries since January 2024 - and over 200 national points of contact globally. The network is currently composed of member countries’ law enforcement representatives from the following regions:

• Asia: 16 countries (2 joined in 2024)
• Caribbean & Central America: 4 countries (2 joined in 2024)
• East Africa: 13 countries (1 joined in 2024)
• Europe: 44 countries
• Middle East & North Africa: 8 countries (2 joined in 2024)
• North America: 2 countries
• Oceania: 2 countries
• South America: 9 countries (2 joined in 2024)
• West Africa: 12 countries (1 joined in 2024)

Established in 2011, the INTERPOL Match-Fixing Task Force supports member countries by assisting with investigations and law enforcement operations concerning crimes related to sports. The Task Force also serves as a platform for case coordination and international efforts to protect the sports industry from criminal exploitation.

Recognising that manipulation and corruption in sports are often linked to broader criminal activity, the Task Force addresses transnational cases involving fraud and
money laundering. Asset recovery is an additional area of focus, as INTERPOL works to enhance the tracing of illicit money flows globally.

Operational Initiatives in Southeast Asia

The INTERPOL Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre (IFCACC) coordinates transnational investigations into cyber-enabled financial crimes through Operation HAECHI. Operation HAECHI tackles some of the most prevalent ones, as voice phishing, romance scams, sextortion, investment fraud, money laundering tied to illegal online betting, business email compromise (BEC) fraud, and e-commerce fraud.

Since its inception, Operation HAECHI has specifically targeted money laundering linked to illegal online betting - a highly profitable and pervasive form of cyber-enabled crime fuelled by high returns and addictive behaviours. Once criminals establish an online betting platform, they can attract participants worldwide, causing harm that far exceeds traditional, offline betting. Given the immense illicit profits generated, money laundering often accompanies these operations to conceal and legitimise unlawful earnings. Notably, this aspect of money laundering is also addressed by Operation SOGA, highlighting its intersection with Operation HAECHI.

The modus operandi used for these crimes are increasingly sophisticated and malicious.Online scam centres, a major threat in this realm, have proliferated and are involved in a range of criminal activities, including human trafficking, voice phishing, illegal online betting promotion, and romance scams. Through coordinated efforts with member jurisdictions, INTERPOL has dismantled several of these operations. These scam centres often house the masterminds behind various crimes investigated under Operation HAECHI, underscoring their pervasive and dangerous nature.

For instance, one recent case coordinated by INTERPOL involved dismantling an online scam centre in the Philippines where illegal online betting was one of the primary crimes. This case underlines how INTERPOL operations complement each other, enhancing global cooperation to combat cyber-enabled crimes like illegal online betting and related financial offences. Similar scam call centres have been reported across Southeast Asia, where they have become regional hubs for transnational crimes and human trafficking, posing significant challenges to law enforcement. In response, INTERPOL and other organisations such as the Asian Racing Federation have issued intelligence reports to prevent the spread of these crimes. INTERPOL actively monitors the evolving tactics of these criminal enterprises and adapts its strategies accordingly.

Another recent case further illustrates INTERPOL’s operations.
For obvious reasons of confidentiality, as some lines of investigation are still opened, names of the countries involved are masked.

Authorities in Country A dismantled an organised criminal group involved in illegal online betting across Countries A, B, and C. The group recruited teenagers in Country
A, luring them with the promise of illicit profits. As these teenagers became involved, they not only participated in the crimes but also targeted additional teenage victims. Leveraging the robust networks of Operations HAECHI and SOGA, authorities in Country A, with the cooperation of member jurisdictions in Countries B and C, successfully dismantled the group, which had illicitly earned over USD 33 million.

Despite not involving kidnapping or forced labour in call centres, the crime followed a similar modus operandi, benefiting from online recruitment and promotion. Due to the
swift response from the investigative team, over USD 5 million was captured and preserved. This case highlights the elements common in these crimes: online recruitment, operations that exploit vulnerable individuals, and rapid money laundering.

INTERPOL is also conducting another project named RESCUE, aimed at enhancing member countries’ ability and readiness to combat the illicit financial flows behind
cyber-enabled fraud through targeted training and case mentorship activities. The project works to provide law enforcement with the awareness and knowledge on addressing the links of cyber-enabled fraud with other forms of criminality.

Project RESCUE focus on the use of various rapid response mechanisms to facilitate transnational stop-payment requests stemming from cyber-enabled fraud cases, to improve their operational response with attention to scam call centres, and to identify and disrupt laundering of related illicit proceeds.

In addition to the intelligence reported by member countries, IFCACC produces the INTERPOL Biweekly Newsletter on Sports Integrity, a bulletin which offers practitioners a comprehensive overview of open-source reports on sports integrity related issues, investigations, sanctions, sentencing, best practices, criminal modus operandi and new developments. It also regularly includes updates on illegal betting investigations and features publications from the ARF Council on Anti-Illegal Betting and Related Financial Crime (now the IFHA Council on Anti-Illegal Betting and Related Crime).

On the back end, this open-source data set is accessible to law enforcement globally via an intelligence dashboard on the INTERPOL secured platform. The Bi-Weekly Bulletin enables INTERPOL member countries’ law enforcement to track media reports of specific cases related to illegal betting throughout the operational period, serving as an open-source detection and reporting tool.
 
Operation SOGA X – modalities, global emerging trends and threats

Illegal betting generates significant profits for organised crime networks and is often closely associated with other crime such as money laundering and corruption. The illegal betting market is worth some USD 1.7 trillion globally, according to research by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and is closely tied to other criminal enterprises.

Operation SOGA

INTERPOL’s Financial Crimes and Anti-Corruption units, with support from the Asia- Pacific Expert Group on Organized Crime (APEG) and the INTERPOL Match-Fixing Task Force, as well as the ARF Council on Anti-Illegal Betting and Related Financial Crime and UEFA Anti-Match-Fixing Unit, launched the 10th wave of joint global anti- illegal betting operation, codenamed SOGA 2 to coincide with the 2024 UEFA

European Football Championship (EURO 2024).

EURO 2024 was predicted to generate a surge in betting turnover and lucrative profits for criminal organisations. A total of 28 INTERPOL jurisdictions participated in this year’s SOGA operation, with authorities making over 5,100 arrests and recovering more than USD 59 million in illicit proceeds.

Authorities tackled various criminal activities linked to illegal betting, including money laundering, human trafficking, and cyber scams. As a result, over 650 human trafficking victims, including nearly 400 Filipinos, were rescued from exploitation in illegal betting and scams. The operation also dismantled criminal networks by shutting down illegal betting sites, breaking up complex financial crime schemes, and exposing international betting syndicates.

The majority of SOGA cases illustrate a comprehensive and evolving threat landscape in illegal betting, involving complex, technology-driven operations with significant financial, social, and human exploitation components. These have shown how illegal betting fuels human trafficking, money laundering and fraud, with hundreds of victims
being trafficked and rescued. The operation also identified and disrupted financial fraud schemes and demonstrated how illegal online betting is linked to other crimes.

The connection between these case studies is that they all involve illegal sports betting operations, often with transnational connections, and highlight the need of strong
efforts from law enforcement agencies from different jurisdictions to combat these criminal activities across borders. Additionally, they share common characteristics such as the use of technologies, namely the use of VPNs, fake websites, and mobile apps, to facilitate their illegal activities and evade detection. Law enforcement agencies have seized significant assets, including cash, properties, and luxury items, and made numerous arrests in connection with these illegal gambling operations.

One of the trends worth highlighting from this round of Operation SOGA X is the forced involvement of vulnerable individuals by criminal organisations to engage in
betting activities. Especially in cases from the Philippines and Korea, recruitment for these syndicates often spans multiple countries, drawing in individuals with promises
of legitimate employment, only to exploit them in illegal betting and fraud operations.

Overall, the cases reported during Operation SOGA demonstrate the complexity and scope of illegal betting operations, as well as the efforts of law enforcement agencies to disrupt and dismantle these criminal networks.

1 INTERPOL member countries have been grouped accordingly to reflect the relevance of different
regions.
2 SOGA stands for Soccer Gambling
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