Axis 3 - Global crises, economic intelligence and new financial crimes.
Pr Patrick Boisselier (PU, Cnam ESDR3C), Rémy Février (MCF, HDR, Cnam, ESDR3C); Hervé Boullanger (Cour des Comptes)
Associated researchers: : Jean-François Gayraud (CNLRT) ; Joel Brenner (MIT) ; Gilles Téneau, Stéphane Linou
PhD students : Carole Seeman ; Nicolas Lesaux.
This team is interested in the interactions between the emergence of global crises (health, monetary, financial, political) and the intelligence and/or regulatory tools dedicated to them. Initially, the work was developed along two lines:
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The traceability of financial transactions
When faced with terrorist or criminal acts, an understanding of the financing circuits, while not solving everything, most often makes it possible to trace the culprits and/or dismantle the network responsible for criminal acts that are likely to be repeated. In some cases, the ex-ante detection of ‘abnormal’ financial movements can even anticipate and prevent crimes and attacks. While the advent of crypto-currencies holds great promise for financial inclusion, transaction efficiency and cost reductions (for both individuals and institutions), it is not without its risks. On the one hand, critics of these new technologies argue that these systems, most often pseudonymous, encourage criminal acts such as money laundering and illegal trafficking.
The famous example of the Silk Road website, where people could buy weapons and illegal substances online, paid for in bitcoins, is often cited. On the other hand, supporters of these crypto-currencies point out that cash is still the most widely used means of financing all kinds of prohibited activities, and that the development of certain crypto-currencies, particularly when they have objectives of total traceability and transparency, could offer many advantages in terms of reliability and security of use that should be encouraged. It is therefore this central question of how to improve the traceability of financial transactions and the detection of illicit financing, particularly in the era of crypto-currencies, that this section should study.
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Mechanisms for incentives, risk control and organisational governance