Financial Action Task Force says one in eight children globally are sexually abused

Banks can do more to trace financial flows

It’s a startling number - 300 million children globally, or one in every eight children, is the victim of sexual abuse each year.

That’s according to the global financial watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The watchdog released findings on using financial intelligence to protect children in March.

It’s clear that banks can do more to trace flows of money which are linked to child sexual abuse. At least some of the financial movements involved can be profiled with relative ease.

RedFlag Accelerator is a financial crime detection specialist in the UK which makes the profiles available for banks for free.

The FATF report is available here.

I interviewed financial intelligence experts for Banking Risk & Regulation, a specialist publication from the Financial Times. The story is here (sign up for free trial needed)