Online Marketplace

Criminals use anonymity networks to access or operate darknet marketplaces that trade illicit goods or services, masking their real IP addresses from both financial institutions and law enforcement. This obfuscation hinders AML teams in tracing payment flows or identifying the individuals behind marketplace transactions, as layered routes and encryption complicate attribution efforts.

Online marketplaces can be exploited when criminals operate as both buyer and seller, generating fabricated sales and:

• Initiating false chargebacks to secure refunds under fabricated reasons (e.g., non-delivery or billing inconsistencies).
• Taking advantage of automated dispute processes with limited oversight, thus repeatedly siphoning funds while concealing their true origin.

Online marketplaces, offering auction-style sales or user-driven bidding features, can be misused when:

• Criminals open multiple seller or buyer accounts to stage manipulated bids and repeat transactions.
• Minimal or inconsistent AML protocols allow illicit operators to move funds under the guise of legitimate online purchases.

Financial institutions may struggle to track ultimate beneficiaries when transaction records are dispersed across multiple online user profiles and platforms.

Criminals list counterfeit medicines on these platforms, exploiting weak verification and oversight. By connecting large numbers of buyers and sellers across multiple jurisdictions, online marketplaces:

• Provide a global reach for distributing falsified products.
• Facilitate anonymous or pseudonymous transactions, limiting transparency for financial institutions.

Online marketplaces hosting grey-market RMT (real-money trading) facilitate:

• Buying and selling of game accounts, rare items, or in-game currency outside legitimate channels.
• Cross-game currency swaps and third-party trades with limited AML oversight.
• Rapid layering by quickly transferring digital assets beyond the original platform.

• Darknet marketplaces are specialized online platforms operating on hidden networks, facilitating the buying and selling of illicit products or services.
• They often incorporate escrow or secure payment channels via cryptocurrencies, limiting financial institutions’ visibility into underlying user identities and transaction flows.
• These marketplaces serve as a hub for criminals to transact pseudonymously, complicating AML monitoring and thwarting traditional due diligence measures.

Online marketplaces, including peer-to-peer platform operators, are exploited by criminals to:

• Post sham or counterfeit goods and services, driving phony revenues.
• Conduct consumer-to-consumer or business-to-consumer sales with minimal KYC or transaction scrutiny.

These factors hinder financial institutions' ability to trace beneficial ownership or verify transaction authenticity.

Online marketplaces are exploited by:

• Allowing the listing and sale of in-game assets or currencies at artificially inflated prices, effectively converting illicit in-game value into cash or cryptocurrency.
• Facilitating numerous small-value trades to diminish transactional visibility and thwart conventional tracing methods.

Criminals leverage these external platforms to integrate laundered proceeds back into the financial system under the guise of routine e-commerce transactions.

Online marketplaces, including those enabling the buying or selling of loyalty points or frequent-flyer miles, can be misused by:

• Allowing criminals to convert illicit funds into points or liquidate points for near-cash value outside regulated channels.
• Facilitating lightly monitored transactions, increasing opacity in the flow of funds.

Such marketplaces operate largely outside traditional banking oversight, further hindering financial institutions’ ability to detect and block suspicious activities.

Online marketplaces hosting metaverse-based asset sales are unwittingly exploited by criminals who:

• Buy and sell NFTs, virtual real estate, or digital goods using illicitly obtained tokens.
• Engage in rapid turnover or wash trading to further layer and mask the source of funds.

This activity dilutes the trail of illicit funds, complicating transactional analysis for financial institutions.

NFT marketplaces with limited KYC controls enable:

• Staged or repeated transfers at inflated prices, masking illicit proceeds as legitimate NFT trades.
• Multiple pseudonymous wallet registrations, fragmenting the transaction trail and hindering meaningful oversight by financial institutions.

Online marketplaces are exploited to:

• List and sell large volumes of in-game items, including stolen or compromised goods.
• Facilitate transactions that may involve anonymous or pseudonymous user accounts.

These cross-border sales can be split into numerous small payments, complicating due diligence and suspicious activity monitoring for financial institutions.

Dark web marketplaces or anonymized platforms provide a channel to acquire precursor chemicals with minimal oversight. They:

• Facilitate negotiations and payments through virtual assets, shielding participants’ identities.
• Complicate due diligence for financial institutions by obscuring transaction origins and product details.

Online marketplaces offering digital goods or NFTs are misused by:

• Enabling criminals to resell items acquired with illicit funds, layering transactions to disguise origins.
• Facilitating rapid flips or wash trading that obscure ultimate beneficiaries and confuse monitoring systems.
• Operating with limited KYC or transaction oversight, making it harder for financial institutions to identify and trace laundered proceeds.