Should Banks Be Crime Fighters? The Hidden (and Not So Hidden) Costs

Are these rules futile? Crime is impossible to effectively measure, intent even more so, which means we have no way of knowing just how much is prevented. But, to pick one example, a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report from 2022 showed that cocaine seizures in 2020 were more than double the 2010 level, and 5% higher than the previous year. Of course, this could mean that officials are better at tracing and seizure. But it’s more likely there’s just more drugs moving, and anyway, success at confiscation has little to do with money laundering. In other words, it’s hard to argue that crime – drugs, smuggling, sex trafficking, sanctions busting – is heading down, despite the heavy-handed and punitive approach.