Law enforcement agencies around the world are struggling to connect cases of financial crime and corruption at home with the billions in illegal Amazon mining operations that fund them each year, an expert on illicit finance and environmental crime told OCCRP.

While organized crime groups seamlessly finance their various ventures from the precious metals illegally obtained from the Amazon, the police tend to compartmentalize their investigations to focus on a particular crime at a time, thus failing to understand the true extent of the conspiracy in the face of their.

Julia Yansura, Program Director for Environmental Crime and Illicit Finance at the FACT Coalition, RECORDED that out of hundreds of cases of environmental crime observed outside the Amazon, only one in three produced a parallel financial investigation by the authorities.

“Usually you’ll find a government agency that investigates and prosecutes environmental crimes. Another agency works on illicit financing. A third agency investigates or prosecutes drug cases, and a fourth agency works on corruption,” she told OCCRP.

“The problem is that criminal networks have expanded and diversified their revenue streams. It is very common to find organized crime groups committing environmental crimes, drug trafficking, bribing government officials and laundering money. So an isolated government response is woefully inadequate.”

Environmental crimes are among the fastest growing illicit economies. Three years ago, financial crime experts estimate that generates up to $281 billion in annual revenue.

Illegal mining, primarily illegal gold mining, comprised the majority of environmental crime cases seen by the FACT Coalition in the Amazon, surpassing other enterprises such as wildlife trafficking and the illegal timber trade.

Given the global appeal of gold as a luxury and versatile commodity, criminals are careful to plan smuggling routes that are difficult for authorities to detect and track.

“Many of the cases we’ve looked at involve government officials accepting bribes,” Yansura said. “Typically, the bribes will be to make products from illegal sources appear legal, for example by creating a fake permit or certification, or to facilitate their export to international markets.”

One case, known as “Los Quilates” trail of the Attorney General of Colombia, saw corrupt officials facilitating gold traffic out of the country. Couriers hand over gold bars to customs officials at Bogotá, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga and Palmira airports, who then return the metal to the couriers after they have cleared security and are about to board their international flights.

Police eventually arrested eight people connected to the conspiracy and seized 60 billion Colombian pesos ($15 million) in gold, cash and other assets.

Another conspiracy, called “The Legend of El Dorado,” revealed a conspiracy to export and launder multi-ton gold from illegal mining operations. Over a ten-year period, CIJ Gutiérrez International Trading Company allegedly trafficked 2.4 trillion Colombian pesos ($542 million ) through a fictitious network of front companies and suppliers.

By falsifying sales worth billions of pesos each, the company could produce the necessary documents to export the gold and at the same time launder the proceeds.

The FACT Coalition report found that the US is the most common destination for illegally obtained natural resources and the dirty money associated with their sale.

“The US has a blind spot when it comes to dirty money,” Yansura told OCCRP. “We have major deficiencies here at home that we need to address.” Her views are supported by US Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen, who said the best place to hide and launder ill-gotten gains is the US.

One explanation suggested by FBI Assistant Deputy Director Regina Thompson is that there are simply too many ways criminals can launder their gold into the market. Falsified documentation, bribes, shell companies, rogue brokers, and the exploitation of corrupt officials are just a few ways that illegally obtained gold can appear legitimate once it has entered the U.S., often thanks to “often smart American businesses” working for transnational criminal organizations.

She also noted how Amazon mining operations, which “exist in remote areas with minimal government presence” enable “criminal activity and human rights abuses – including those involving forced labor, sex trafficking, child labor and violence against native communities – to thrive”.

Among the suggestions listed in the FACT Coalition report is improved cooperation between source, transit and destination countries affected by these crimes. Of the more than 200 cases examined, only 25% mentioned more than one country involved in the investigation.

The need to better eliminate shell and front companies that mask criminal money laundering operations was also highlighted. This includes identifying beneficial owners as well as promoting an increased focus on corporate transparency for international business.

Experts say the recent passage of the US Corporate Transparency Act will go a long way in preventing the misuse of corporate entities for criminal gain, whether it’s money laundering, undermining domestic trade regulations or fraud.

“The old ways of conducting investigations are not working. Authorities tend to focus on the immediate goods involved and stop there. If it’s a case of gold trafficking, the authorities confiscate the gold and immediately arrest the people associated with it, and that’s it,” Yansura said.

“Only recently has there been more emphasis on tracking the money and tracing it back to those with real power and influence in the criminal network.”