HAS CAPE TOWN NOW BECOME A CENTER OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME ACTIVITY? IS ONE OF THE TEN MOST WANTED FUGITIVES NOW LIVING THERE?

RUJA IGNATOVA, dubbed the "Cryptoqueen' by American media, is one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted. Her notorious OneCoin scheme defrauded millions, and put a five million dollar price on her head. So why are there repeated reports that she is living in Cape Town? This is just one incident of factors that have led many to believe that the South African city, a known global tourist destination has morphed into a center of transnational organized crime.

To add to the perception that the city is now an organized crime center, new evidence of Mexican narcotics trafficking, including the local importation of Fentanyl, in toxic strength, is being noticed there. This is extremely disturbing from a public health point of view, given the huge amount of deaths that the United States has experienced from the potent drug; whether local law enforcement can suppress this new threat, given that corruption and other police shortcomings is a serious concern.


Since the conditions that often favor attracting organized crime (OC) to any urban area include inefficient and ineffective anti-money laundering at local financial institutions, compliance officers seeking to protect their banks from OC need to increase their awareness of the money laundering tactics such groups have been known to practise, as they move the proceeds of their criminal activity through local financial institutions. These techniques will be featured in our upcoming virtual presentation entitled UNMASKING AFRICA'S FINANCIAL UNDERWORLD in March. Link to enroll will be entered here. Watch this space.