New opportunities to utilise benefit and financial fraud to detect human trafficking uncovered during project FRAUD study visit to London 

In a bid to increase understanding of the linkages between benefit and financial fraud and human trafficking, the CBSS Task Force Against Human Trafficking led a delegation of regional anti-trafficking experts on a three-day study visit to London from 15-17 May 2024.

In London, the delegation had the opportunity to learn about the UK response to tackling trafficking in human beings, especially in the context of fraud-related crimes. In 2023, more than 17,000 presumed victims were referred to the UK National Referral Mechanism for victims of human trafficking. Victims of forced criminality, which includes financial and benefit fraud as forms of human trafficking, constituted the second largest group.

UK anti-trafficking experts emphasised that benefit fraud is considered a very lucrative business among traffickers. Organised criminal groups have been successful in stealing victims’ identities and using them to obtain social benefits. This exploitation can occur alongside other forms of human trafficking, as highlighted in a presentation about Operation Fort, the largest labour trafficking case in the UK, which involved 400 victims from Poland.

“According to the UK experience, the linkages between human trafficking and benefit fraud are rather evident,” said Veikko Mäkelä, Project Officer at the CBSS Task Force against Trafficking in Human Beings (TF-THB).

“At best, investigations into benefit fraud can be utilised to uncover human trafficking. This requires multi-agency cooperation and a staunch understanding of benefit fraud in the context of human trafficking, which we aim to achieve for the Baltic Sea Region in our pathfinder project FRAUD,” he added.

FRAUD, or Tackling Financial and Benefit Fraud in the Baltic Sea Region, is a CBSS-led project focused on raising awareness, building capacity, and fostering cooperation to address the link between human trafficking and welfare-related crimes.

During the study visit, conducted under the FRAUD project, the delegation met with law enforcement and financial institutions, such as banks, and received information on how financial data can be better utilised in human trafficking investigations.

The UK has invested in strong public-private partnerships, facilitating the ability of law enforcement, financial, and scientific institutions to combine their data to support human trafficking investigations and advocacy.

When financial data is layered on top of law enforcement intelligence, authorities can form substantive networks of people and transactions, leading to the tracks of traffickers and victims.

The delegation travelling to London consisted of members from the Ministry of the Interior of Latvia, the Latvian police, the Estonian National Insurance Board, the Finnish National Assistance System for Victims of Human Trafficking, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, the Swedish Civil Society Platform against Human Trafficking, Salvation Army Sweden, and the Polish Police.