Moody’s has published data which demonstrates that global money laundering activity has increased “significantly” over the past five years.

Analysis from the business and financial services giant also found that human trafficking has been a common predicate crime to money laundering globally, connected to over 10 per cent of cases flagged by the company.

“There is a concerning link between human trafficking and the facilitation of money laundering," warned Keith Berry, general manager, compliance and third-risk management solutions, Moody's. "Financial crime is growing increasingly complex and interconnected with other forms of crime."

The company's figures show that last year there was a 17 per cent increase in money laundering risks across the world compared to 2018, with 37,184 risks recorded in 2023 compared to 25,738 five years before.

Europe saw an even higher increase of 25 per cent, with Moody's revealing that the UK has the most money laundering activity across the continent, accounting for 29 per cent of all reported incidents.

The company's data also showed that incidents of modern slavery in Europe had increased by almost 17 per cent between 2022 and 2023.

The data comes as Moody's launches "The Infinite Game", a set of three 10-minute documentaries which explore the threat that financial crime poses for legitimate organisations.

“As The Infinite Game and our data shows, organisations face complex challenges and a great need for rigorous due diligence," continued Berry. "Almost all criminal activity is carried out in the pursuit of money, which in turn means there is an entire service industry based around legitimising the funds bad actors gain through crimes including modern slavery.

"Compliance teams are tasked with tackling both the highly motivated criminals involved with this sector, as well as the legitimate entities that have been exploited by bad actors."

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