... As this report will reveal, banks and other financial service providers are increasingly seeking to address this gap by assessing the services they source and the clients they fund, and attempting to apply their transaction monitoring and data analytic capabilities to support the pressing need for improved evidence that could boost THB-related prosecutions. As entities with potential access to the financial data of both traffickers and their victims, the financial industry has the ability to play a vital role in the fight against this crime. This report offers the following recommendations for future action:

1. Financial institutions must continually seek knowledge from law enforcement and THB-focused NGOs to ensure that staff training and investigation approaches reflect expert insight and guidance on:
1. The changing nature of human trafficking, including typologies (for example, enabling a more balanced focus between sexual and labour exploitation; the former currently receives a disproportionate degree of focus).
2. High-risk industries and countries of origin, destination and transit for THB.
3. Financial crime trends, such as greater use of online payments and use of prepaid cards, as well as increased diversification in the use of trafficking victims beyond sexual and labour exploitation, such as for theft, organised property crime, benefit fraud and drug production.
4. The changing nature of trafficking business models, which react to legislation, disruption and the emergence of new ‘markets’...