African pirates took $413 mn in ransom since 2005: Study
4 Nov 2013 2:50 AM IST
Horn of Africa pirates have raked in up to $413 million in ransom since 2005, with most of it used to finance ‘global scale’ criminal operations, a new study said on Friday.
The study said the pirates themselves get little of the money paid them by international ship and cargo owners, with their financiers getting most of the take.
The money then is spun into criminal operations including arms trafficking, migrant smuggling, and to fund militias, as well as into legitimate businesses, according to the joint study by the World Bank, United Nations and Interpol.
The study, ‘ Pirate Trails,’ points to the need to go after the money itself, as it is laundered and used in other areas, and not just the pirates.
‘The international community has mobilized a naval force to deal with the pirates,’ said Stuart Yikona, a World Bank financial sector expert and co-author of the report.
‘A similarly managed multinational effort is needed to disrupt and halt the flow of illicit money that circulates in the wake of their activities.’
The study paints a picture of an increasingly sophisticated industry operating mainly from Somalia. It is based on interviews with government officials, bankers, local businesses and former pirates. It says that pirates, hijacking vessels from small sailboats to oil supertankers off the busy coast of East Africa, have been able to ransom off their captives for between $339 million and $413 million between 2005 and 2012. 30 to 75 per cent of the money ends up in ‘financiers’ hands, with only a small amount going to the pirates.
The study said the pirates themselves get little of the money paid them by international ship and cargo owners, with their financiers getting most of the take.
The money then is spun into criminal operations including arms trafficking, migrant smuggling, and to fund militias, as well as into legitimate businesses, according to the joint study by the World Bank, United Nations and Interpol.
The study, ‘ Pirate Trails,’ points to the need to go after the money itself, as it is laundered and used in other areas, and not just the pirates.
‘The international community has mobilized a naval force to deal with the pirates,’ said Stuart Yikona, a World Bank financial sector expert and co-author of the report.
‘A similarly managed multinational effort is needed to disrupt and halt the flow of illicit money that circulates in the wake of their activities.’
The study paints a picture of an increasingly sophisticated industry operating mainly from Somalia. It is based on interviews with government officials, bankers, local businesses and former pirates. It says that pirates, hijacking vessels from small sailboats to oil supertankers off the busy coast of East Africa, have been able to ransom off their captives for between $339 million and $413 million between 2005 and 2012. 30 to 75 per cent of the money ends up in ‘financiers’ hands, with only a small amount going to the pirates.
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