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Game Developers/Platforms

Game developers and platforms facilitate the trade of virtual goods and currencies, which can be misused by criminals for laundering purposes. While these entities operate legally, their platforms can be manipulated to obscure financial trails, posing significant compliance and due diligence challenges for FIs tasked with monitoring such transactions.

[
Code
AT0028
]
[
Name
Game Developers/Platforms
]
[
Version
1.0
]
[
Category
Corporate & Commercial Entities
]
[
Created
2025-03-14
]
[
Modified
2025-04-02
]

Related Techniques

T0058.003
|
Child Exploitation
|

Criminals exploit gaming platforms by:

  • Identifying and grooming minors through chat features and user communities.
  • Using aliases or false profiles to hide their real identities and transactions, complicating detection by financial institutions monitoring related payments.
T0066.002
|
Cross-Platform Trading
|

Game developers and platforms are exploited when criminals:

  • Use in-game currency systems and asset transfers that lack robust identity verification.
  • Rely on platform features (e.g., gifting, trading) to circulate illicit funds across multiple accounts or titles.
  • Move digital assets in ways that complicate AML monitoring and obscure transactional trails.
T0066.003
|
In-Game Currency & Microtransaction Exploits
|

Game developers and platforms are unwittingly exploited by:

  • Providing in-game payment systems and trading features that lack strict KYC measures, enabling criminals to transfer, store, and withdraw illicit value masquerading as routine gaming activity.
  • Hosting peer-to-peer item swaps and microtransaction ecosystems where the true source of in-game currency or assets is obscured.

This environment poses a challenge for financial institutions, as transactions within proprietary gaming systems are not always subject to traditional AML monitoring.

T0066
|
Virtual Worlds
|

Game developers and platforms may be exploited—knowingly or unknowingly—when criminals:

  • Use in-game currency and digital asset trading systems to layer illicit proceeds among legitimate player activity.
  • Exploit lax or non-existent AML safeguards, making it difficult for external financial institutions to detect suspicious funds.
  • Conduct high-volume or atypical trades that appear to be routine gaming transactions, further obscuring the true source of funds.