High-value tangible assets such as exclusive vehicles, yachts, private jets, and high-end watches, noted for craftsmanship, brand reputation, and potential appreciation in value. Often used for personal or corporate needs and traded through dealerships, auction houses, or private sales.
Main/
Luxury Goods
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Code
IN0053
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Name
Luxury Goods
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Version
1.0
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Category
Commodities & High-Value Tangible Assets
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Created
2025-02-04
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Modified
2025-04-02
Related Techniques
- Criminals transfer high-value items (e.g., luxury watches, vehicles) to officials or gatekeepers as covert bribes, bypassing typical financial transaction records.
- Recipients can then resell or otherwise monetize these goods privately, minimizing transparent payment trails and making it harder to detect the illegal inducement.
- High-end items such as exclusive vehicles, yachts, or private jets are purchased with illicit funds under the guise of legitimate luxury acquisitions.
- Private resales and international transfers allow criminals to obscure the origin of assets by introducing multiple ownership changes.
- The substantial asset value and brand prestige reduce immediate suspicion, aiding in layering and ultimately integrating illegal funds.
- High-value items (e.g., yachts, private jets, luxury vehicles) can be registered under offshore companies or nominees, concealing the real individual’s involvement.
- Transferring ownership among multiple shell entities further obfuscates the asset trail.
- Such items are used to store illicit value while maintaining distance between the criminal and the asset’s official paperwork.
- Daigou shoppers acquire high-value items (e.g., designer handbags, exclusive electronics) abroad using illicit funds.
- Reselling these items locally transforms illegal proceeds into legitimate-appearing commercial revenue, circumventing capital controls and standard AML checks.
- Shell companies in FTZs over- or under-invoice luxury items (e.g., high-end watches, designer products), making illicit funds appear as legitimate trade proceeds.
- Minimal customs and transaction disclosure requirements allow repetitive cross-border shipments at manipulated values, layering illicit money through multiple jurisdictions.
- Opaque ownership structures within these zones obscure the true owners of high-value merchandise, thwarting AML investigations.
- High-end items (e.g., watches, cars, yachts) can have valuations manipulated through fictitious invoices or staged private sales.
- Criminals artificially raise or lower reported prices, disguising illicit proceeds as legitimate gains or concealing true wealth.
- Corrupt officials purchase expensive items, such as high-end watches, yachts, or premium vehicles, with illicit funds, converting ill-gotten gains into physical assets that can be easily resold or transferred.
- These goods can be discreetly moved across jurisdictions, circumventing standard banking channels and reducing the likelihood of detection.
- Traffickers purchase high-end vehicles, watches, or other upscale items using illicit cash or through seemingly legitimate front business transactions.
- These items hold significant value and can be resold or transported, providing traffickers with the flexibility to move, store, or conceal illicit proceeds.
- Labeling expensive purchases as business expenses or ordinary personal acquisitions helps traffickers mask the true origin of funds derived from forced labor or sexual exploitation.
- Criminals re-register or transfer high-value assets like yachts and aircraft among multiple front companies.
- Rapid changes in official ownership records mask the real controlling party.
- Secrecy-friendly jurisdictions lacking strong beneficial ownership disclosure requirements facilitate these repeated transfers, thwarting investigations.
- Items like yachts or private aircraft can be titled under a trust entity, obscuring the real owner’s identity.
- Frequent changes to trust beneficiaries or signatories impede authorities’ ability to link these luxury assets to the underlying controller.
- Secrecy-friendly jurisdictions further shield registration details, allowing criminals to maintain and transfer these high-value assets without transparent ownership records.
- Exclusive vehicles or other high-end assets can be auctioned in private or lightly regulated settings.
- Criminals collude on inflated bids or contrived sales to generate credible yet fraudulent documentation of legitimate income.
- The anonymity or limited disclosure at such auctions thwarts transparency and conceals beneficial ownership.
- Criminals use proceeds from carbon credit scams to acquire high-value luxury assets (e.g., vehicles, watches), integrating illicit funds into tangible property.
- These goods can be purchased through shell companies in jurisdictions with minimal reporting requirements, further obscuring the money trail.
- High-value assets are easily resold or transferred, making them an attractive conduit for converting and hiding criminal proceeds.
- High-end watches, automobiles, and similar luxury items are stored in duty-free zones under nominal or corporate ownership, concealing the true beneficiaries.
- The lack of public documentation in these storage facilities prevents authorities from easily identifying suspicious asset flows.
- Criminals can transfer ownership through private sales with minimal oversight, disguising the movement and layering of illicit proceeds.