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Eurojust supports arrest of nine human traffickers in France and Spain

May 20, 2024

An organised crime group (OCG) active in human trafficking and sexual exploitation has been exposed, and suspected members were arrested with the support of Eurojust and Europol. The arrest of nine suspects in France and Spain has stopped the structured human trafficking network in its tracks. After French authorities discovered an apartment that was used for prostitution in 2022, an investigation was launched that exposed the network’s activities…

Home Office updates the modern slavery statement registry to encourage UK companies to help the Govt’s efforts to tackle this crime

May 11, 2024

The changes will encourage businesses to upload their annual modern slavery statements in a timely way and support them to publish robust statements. Modern slavery statements help reduce the risk of forced labour being used in UK supply chains by increasing transparency and allowing consumers to make informed choices…

Home Office releases statistics on potential modern slavery victims referred into the National Referral Mechanism

May 11, 2024

The key results include: 4,524 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the Home Office from Jan to Mar 2024, representing a 9% increase compared to the period from Oct to Dec 2023 (4,134) and a 5% decrease compared to the period from January to March 2023 (4,738) 73% (3,291) of potential victims were male and 27% (1,226) were female since the NRM began…

European Parliament imposes ban on products made with forced labour from EU single market

May 7, 2024

Member state authorities and the European Commission will be able to investigate suspicious goods, supply chains, and manufacturers. If a product is deemed to have been made using forced labour, it will no longer be possible to sell it on the EU market (including online) and shipments will be intercepted at the EU’s borders…

Europol discusses the new network to target migrant smugglers in the digital domain

May 5, 2024

Experts from law enforcement, prosecution, judiciary, the EU and international organisations gathered at Europol headquarters to discuss the digital aspect of migrant smuggling, the first of a series of meetings as a follow-up to the Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling launched in November. The discussions held during the meeting focussed on prevention, response, international cooperation and how to work with the private sector to tackle migrant smuggling activities enabled by the use of online platforms…

UNODC launches new action to combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling

April 24, 2024

The involvement of organized crime and the rapid evolution of digital technologies have exacerbated the situation. Online technologies are regularly abused to exploit trafficking victims or advertise migrant smuggling services. Financial crises, armed conflicts and forced displacement, catalyzed by the pandemic…

New Moody’s data sheds light on the rise in modern slavery and money laundering across Europe

March 20, 2024

Moody’s data shows that incidents of modern slavery increased by nearly 17% from 2022 to 2023 – rising from 18,335 to 21,626. This upward trend is a strong increase compared to the figure of 10,277 in 2018. The analysis identified human trafficking as the predominant underlying crime in money…

Europol releases new podcast on ‘Halting People Smugglers’ highlighting the biggest operations it has supported

March 12, 2024

In this episode Europol and authorities from Hungary and Austria tell the story of the Burgenland Corpses Discovery, one of Europe’s most tragic migrant smuggling cases. In 2015, at the height of the European Migrant Crisis, a terrible tragedy struck when reckless criminal actions cost 71 innocent lives…

GRETA calls on Italy to better prevent human trafficking for labour exploitation and ensure effective sanctions for traffickers

February 20, 2024

The report shows that between 2,100 and 3,800 persons have been detected as possible victims of trafficking in Italy per year. While most of victims were women, the number of men and transgender victims has increased. Sexual exploitation remains predominant, but the number of victims of labour exploitation is growing….

Global Initiative releases report on ‘We just want to find our children’ – Understanding disappearances as a tool of organised crime

February 14, 2024

This brief draws from the work and perspectives of such civil society and community members who live in environments that are exposed to disappearances. It assesses this form of organized crime as a serious human rights violation. While informed by the global dynamics of this criminal market, it focuses on contexts in which disappearances occur in Latin America, analyzing in particular the cases of Mexico and Venezuela…

FinCEN sees increase in BSA reporting involving the use of Convertible Virtual Currency (CVC) for Online Child Sexual Exploitation (OCSE) and human trafficking

February 13, 2024

Latest Financial Trend Analysis (FTA) aims to combat human trafficking as well as the illicit uses of CVC, given the total number of OCSE- and human trafficking-related BSA reports involving CVC increased from 336 in 2020 to 1,975 in 2021

Council of EU adopts position to ban products made with forced labour on the EU market

February 1, 2024

The proposal prohibits products made with forced labour from being placed or made available on the Union market or exported from the Union to third countries. The competent authorities should assess forced labour risks based on a range of different sources of information, such as submissions from civil society…