Green crime goes global

In late 2024, Brazilian federal police dismantled a sprawling illegal gold mining network in Pará, exposing a criminal enterprise that stretched far beyond the rainforest.

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The operation, part of a broader crackdown on illicit mining in Indigenous territories, uncovered links to money laundering via shell companies and fraudulent permits, with funds traced to accounts in Dubai, Miami, and Panama.

During the raids, Brazilian authorities seized drones, encrypted phones, and fuel-laden barges — all tools of a well-financed transnational operation. The bust confirmed what researchers have warned about for years: environmental crime in the Amazon is now deeply entangled with global financial crime. The armed groups behind them are corrupting officials and increasingly operating at an industrial scale.

Environmental crime has become so extensive that it is reshaping the global policy agenda, evolving from a niche concern to an urgent topic of international diplomacy.