The fast growing sector has been linked to human trafficking, money laundering and the global drug trade, among other crimes.
A new INTERPOL report has found the billion dollar mobile money industry in Africa is being exploited by organized crime groups – a trend only set to increase as the service is rolled out across the continent.
The ‘Mobile money and organized crime in Africa’ report presents an overview of the criminal exploitation of mobile money services, including fraud, money laundering, extortion, human trafficking and people smuggling, the illegal wildlife trade and terrorism.
The African continent is the “world leader” in the mobile money industry, accounting for nearly half of all registered mobile money accounts globally.
The prominent role that mobile money plays in African societies and economies, and the rapid pace at which its infrastructure has been developed, has enabled criminals to “exploit weaknesses in regulations and identification systems” and commit mobile money-enabled crimes.
