Financial Systems

Human trafficking is a business and the International Labour Organization estimates that it is a $150 billion global industry. A significant amount of this money will go through legitimate financial institutions, like retail bank branches.

Polaris released its newest ground-breaking report on how human trafficking business models attempt to intersect with and use legitimate businesses like financial services, social media, hotels & motels, transportation systems, health care, and housing and homelessness systems to further their operations in very specific ways to recruit and exploit victims.

If you’re a fan of the Netflix series Ozark, you’re probably already very familiar with the dangerous art of money laundering. 

The laws governing business registration in the United States are enabling illicit massage parlors to flourish in secrecy, shielding traffickers from law enforcement and prosecution, according to a report released by Polaris.

Polaris praised the major credit card companies today for no longer accepting payments through Backpage.com. For years, Backpage has profited from ads selling victims and survivors of human trafficking, including minors. The move cripples Backpage's ability to profit from these ads, while also disrupting traffickers from selling victims online.