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New research from the University of Sussex, published August 5 has identified a large-scale shift from the UK to what researchers are terming the "Dubai-Kong axis" as a new hotspot for illicit financial flows (IFFs)—money tied to corruption, organized crime and sanctions evasion.

Researchers at the University's School of Global Studies and Center for the Study of Corruption have revealed significant shifts in the pattern of global IFFs. The research reveals how different types of "dirty money," funds obtained through activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, fraud, or other criminal enterprises, flows around the world.

Led by Dr. Daniel Haberly, researchers conducted a detailed analysis of multiple datasets over the course of four years. Their new study highlights the intricate links between politics, regulation, and the location of secretive shell companies and bank accounts used by a variety of actors to evade US sanctions, and to enable corruption and different types of criminal activities.

Among their findings is a seemingly large-scale shift in the global epicenter of dirty money networks to Dubai and Hong Kong. The UK has historically been at the center of the global financial system, including for many types of illicit financial flows, and the financial activities of actors in US-sanctioned countries. Meanwhile Panama has long been a preferred financial hub for organized criminal groups.

This now looks to be changing, however, and the Sussex researchers have coined the term "Dubai-Kong axis" to refer to the now leading as well interconnected role of Dubai and Hong Kong in global networks of dirty money.

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