Combating Wildlife Trafficking Financing and Proceeds Study Act

To require the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a study with respect to wildlife trafficking financing and proceeds, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Combating Wildlife Trafficking Financing and Proceeds Study Act 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) The 2017 report by the think tank, Global Financial Integrity, entitled Transnational Crime and the Developing World (2) Wildlife traffickers do not prefer particular species or commodities, but instead, according to the non-governmental organization, United for Wildlife, wildlife traffickers focus on the demand, availability, profit potential, and relatively low risk associated with acquiring, trading, and distributing wildlife globally. (3) The trafficking of wildlife affects human health because of undetected spread of zoonotic diseases, scarcity in food resources, and the environmental results of degraded ecosystems. (4) Also, the trafficking of illicit wildlife such as pangolins from Africa, macaws from Peru, turtles from the United States, and rosewood species smuggled globally threatens our national security at home and American interests abroad because rogue organizations, including transnational criminal organizations, use the proceeds to fund illegal and violent acts throughout the world, fueling corruption and benefiting from corrupt government officials, weakening the rule of law, and distorting commercial markets. (5) Many of these supply chains are affected by Chinese activity, from the criminal organizations involved in the initial poaching of targeted commodities to the demand for goods produced from endangered plants and animals. (6) The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces conducted an investigation known as Operation Apex (7) A study conducted by Federal entities that examined wildlife trafficking networks determined that— (A) more than two-thirds of persons trafficking wildlife also trafficked narcotics; (B) 10 percent of persons trafficking wildlife were doing so to finance terrorism; and (C) a small percentage of persons trafficking wildlife were doing so to finance the proliferation of nuclear materials. (8) Because wildlife trafficking is executed as part of a commodity-agnostic global enterprise, the United States and allies of the United States should focus efforts to reduce wildlife trafficking on curtailing the expansive networks that traffic wildlife and other goods and on bringing enforcement actions against persons who launder the proceeds of those persons who traffic wildlife rather than pursue specific nations, groups, or commodities. (9) In the past decade, the illicit wildlife trade has moved online, mainly to social media platforms, creating jurisdictional and technical challenges for law enforcement. 3. Study (a) In general The Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, shall jointly, not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, conduct a study with respect to wildlife trafficking financing and proceeds and submit a report on such study to— (1) the Committees on Financial Services and Natural Resources of the House of Representatives; and (2) the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. (b) Consultation In conducting the study required under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of the Interior shall consult with such other Federal officials as the Secretaries determine appropriate, including the Secretary of State, the Director of National Intelligence, the Director of Homeland Security Investigations, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Defense. (c) Input In conducting the study required under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of the Interior shall solicit and incorporate, where possible and as determined appropriate by the Secretaries, input from— (1) domestic, foreign, and multilateral law enforcement organizations, (2) the intelligence community; (3) wildlife advocates; (4) experts in transnational organized crime, cyber-crime, and illicit finance; and (5) nongovernmental organizations, academia, foundations, and other public and private entities. (d) Contents of report The report required under subsection (a) shall include— (1) an overview of the criminal and complicit actors, including individuals, organizations, corrupt networks, and nations, that participate in wildlife trafficking from source to market, both proactively and permissively. (2) an overview of the types of wildlife trafficked, for what purposes, and from where; (3) an overview of the roles of professional money launderers, corporate and trust formation agents, kleptocrats, and other supply chain and financial facilitators with respect to wildlife trafficking; (4) a discussion, based on a consideration of relevant prior studies and investigations, of the convergence of wildlife trafficking with other types of trafficking, including trafficking in persons, timber trafficking, and narcotics trafficking, including shared supply chains and financial facilitators; (5) an overview of the national security implications associated with wildlife trafficking and the financing and proceeds of wildlife trafficking, including— (A) potential threats to security, including corruption and State instability resulting from wildlife trafficking; and (B) potential threats to public health, including global pandemic and ecosystem collapse; (6) an examination of how anti-corruption activities might be leveraged with respect to mitigating the ways in which corrupt officials and politically exposed persons enable and engage in wildlife trafficking financing and proceeds; (7) an examination of payments methods used to facilitate the trafficking of wildlife, including its financing and proceeds; (8) an examination of how online platforms are used to facilitate trafficking and trafficking-related payments that— (A) describes the extent to which illicit wildlife trade occurs online, including through social media platforms, ecommerce sites, and encrypted messaging and other surface web platforms; (B) identifies payments- and proceeds-related reasons that different online platforms may be chosen by persons trafficking in wildlife; and (C) identifies online platforms that are used most for transactions and payments involving trafficking in wildlife; (9) an examination of private-sector best practices for combating wildlife trafficking financing and proceeds (including those found in the financial services industry), as well as any practices that have not had success combating wildlife trafficking financing and proceeds; (10) a discussion of ways in which existing laws, multilateral agreements, and forums could be expanded or modified to combat wildlife trafficking financing and disrupt its proceeds; (11) an identification of tools of international and national engagement, including partnerships with private sector and international financial institutions, that could be coordinated to combat wildlife trafficking financing and disrupt its proceeds; (12) recommendations about ways in which interdisciplinary collaboration across Federal agencies could be incentivized to maximize information and analysis from investigations into other types of trafficking and which may benefit from the information and analysis gleaned from wildlife trafficking investigations; (13) an examination of how data collection, collaboration, analysis, and technology tools, including artificial intelligence and machine learning might be leveraged to combat wildlife trafficking and its proceeds; (14) a recommendation of whether Congress should renew the wildlife trafficking task force authorized in the END Act and sunsetting in December 2021; and (15) an examination of how anti-corruption activities and practices could be included in existing Federal and international wildlife trafficking prevention and enforcement efforts. (e) Classification of report The report required under subsection (a) may be submitted in classified form but shall have an unclassified annex or executive summary.

Summary: Combating Wildlife Trafficking Financing and Proceeds Study Act This bill requires the Department of the Treasury and the Fish and Wildlife Service to jointly study the illicit financing of and other matters related to wildlife trafficking, including the national security implications and the use of online platforms to facilitate wildlife trafficking.