The 2024 Follow Money, Fight Slavery Summit brought together leaders, experts, and advocates from around the world to discuss innovative ways to combat human trafficking through financial and intelligence strategies. This year’s summit showcased the power of cross-sector collaboration, data-driven insights, and the importance of following financial transactions to disrupt trafficking networks. Below is a summary of the key statistics and insights from the event. 

A Powerful Three-Day Event 

The summit spanned three days and featured 62 expert speakers who provided actionable insights on the latest trends and challenges in identifying and preventing trafficking. In total, the event drew 1,830 registrants, underscoring the growing interest in using financial tools and intelligence to address this issue. 

Global Participation: A United Front Against Trafficking 

The summit attracted attendees from 85 countries, highlighting the global scale of human trafficking and the need for international cooperation to combat this complex issue effectively. With participants spanning multiple industries, the event underscored the importance of working across sectors to address financial crime, improve intelligence sharing, and safeguard vulnerable populations. 

Attendee Profile: A Cross-Sector Collaboration 

The diversity of industries represented at the event is a testament to the broad impact of trafficking and the need for integrated solutions. The breakdown of attendees by industry was as follows: 

  • 42%: Finance, AML (Anti-Money Laundering), & Consulting 
  • 18%: Law Enforcement, Investigations, & Government Agencies 
  • 16%: Cybersecurity, Technology, Data, & Crypto 
  • 18%: Nonprofits, Healthcare, & Other 
  • 6%: Academia & Students 

This diversity demonstrates how financial institutions, law enforcement, technology providers, and nonprofit organizations must work together to detect, disrupt, and prevent human trafficking activities. 

Financial Institutions’ Struggles with Detection 

A key finding discussed during the event revealed that 7.5 out of 10 banks admitted they lack confidence in their ability to identify human trafficking within customer transactions. This statistic highlights a significant gap in financial institutions’ ability to spot suspicious activity linked to trafficking, underscoring the need for enhanced training, technology, and monitoring systems to bridge this gap. 

Leveraging Data and Technology to Combat Human Trafficking: Key Insights from Industry Experts 

Human trafficking is a global issue that requires a multidimensional approach to detect, monitor, and prevent effectively. During this panel discussion with Vital4’s Amy Barbieri, experts explored how data and advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) can play a transformative role in combating human trafficking and financial crime.  

Advanced technologies like AI and machine learning offer groundbreaking tools for detecting and preventing trafficking. AI’s ability to analyze massive datasets with precision enables organizations to uncover patterns that human analysts might miss. Some applications discussed include: 

  • Predictive modeling: This technology identifies potential trafficking hotspots or high-risk individuals. 
  • Sentiment analysis: Analyzing social media content can reveal trends or language associated with trafficking activities. 
  • Text analytics: AI-powered tools help extract relevant insights from news articles or social platforms to identify trafficking destinations. 

The ability to process large datasets quickly means organizations can identify risks in real-time, reducing the window of opportunity for criminal activities to occur. 

Amy Barbieri noted that one of the persistent challenges in anti-money laundering (AML) and trafficking detection is the use of unstructured data, such as news articles. Traditionally, keyword-based searches were used to find adverse media, but this method often led to false positives. For example, an article about “John Smith killed the ball” in a sports context could be flagged as suspicious content, slowing down investigations. 

To address these challenges, Barbieri highlighted advancements such as: 

  • Natural Language Processing (NLP): AI can now understand the context of phrases, reducing the number of irrelevant results. 
  • Contextual entity extraction: This allows organizations to determine not just the presence of a name but the role the individual plays (e.g., prosecutor versus perpetrator) within the article. 
  • Smart monitoring tools: Real-time notifications ensure that organizations are alerted to any changes in risk profiles, enabling timely intervention. 

These tools improve efficiency, enabling financial institutions to screen customers more accurately and monitor ongoing risks effectively. 

Conclusion 

The 2024 Follow Money, Fight Slavery Summit was a powerful reminder that combating human trafficking requires collaboration, vigilance, and continuous learning. With financial crime detection at the forefront of the conversation, attendees left with a renewed commitment to work together across industries and borders to disrupt trafficking networks and protect vulnerable individuals. 

To learn more about the initiative and join the fight against human trafficking, visit followmoneyfightslavery.org.