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Behind every criminal network sits an enabling architecture, sometimes by design and sometimes by neglect. The outcome is the same.

Just as the internet has its dark web, the systems that run our economies have hidden back doors. In Central Africa they take concrete form: flags of convenience that let vessels hide who owns them; air cargo and charter networks that fly weapons under the radar; regional hubs where conflict gold is relabelled and exported as legitimate; company registries that let owners stay anonymous and move their profits. Built for legitimate purposes, these systems end up fuelling the wars they should help prevent.

Technology is now making those back doors faster and more opaque, so criminal networks get stronger and criminal economies expand.

This webinar explores three key pillars of the architecture:

• Infrastructure: flags of convenience. How lax ship registries allow vessels to change identity, hide their owners and slip through sanctions, turning a legal maritime system into a shield for illicit trade.

• Jurisdictions: regional and global hubs. How conflict gold from Central Africa is relabelled in regional hubs and enters global markets as legitimate, while those who profit stay beyond the reach of justice.

• Finance: illicit financial flows. How opaque company registries, banking loopholes and unregulated crypto platforms allow criminal proceeds to be laundered and moved across borders in seconds.

Speakers:

• Nathalia Dukhan, Director, Central Africa Observatory: introduction

• Yörük Işık, Bosphorus Observer: Flags of convenience

• Sophia Pickles, Senior Expert, GI-TOC: Regional and global hubs

• Idrissa Ouattara, International technical expert for SecFin Africa – Central Africa Hub: Financial platforms