This study shines a light on Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) - powerful public financial institutions that play a key role in enabling international trade, yet often operate with far less oversight than banks.
The study shows that ECAs frequently support high-risk projects with public means, exposing them to possible links with money laundering and the financing of terrorism, but they are not held to the anti-financial crime standards that other financial actors are bound by.
Through interviews, legal analysis and case research, the report finds that ECAs’ current compliance systems are limited, and that their close ties with clients hinder critical scrutiny. Given the impact of financial crime on undermining people’s rights and good governance, the results call for a stronger gatekeeping role for ECAs, to protect public money and the integrity of the financial system.
This research for Friends of the Earth Netherlands was conducted by human rights researcher Floor Knoote of Dimes Consultancy, together with Dr. Annika van Baar of VU University and jurist Ron Rosenhart.
This report is part of a series on anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing. For the first report in this series see: 'De-Risking Dissent,' on how financial anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism regulations have serious consequences for climate and human rights defenders worldwide, including in the Netherlands.
Read all recommendations in the report Regimes of Permission
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