Celina Realuyo (left)

On August 22, 2024, Perry Center Professor Celina Realuyo spoke on “The Financing of Human Trafficking through Cryptocurrencies” at the XXVIII Hemispheric Congress for the Prevention of Money Laundering, Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Panama before an in-person audience of more than 1200 Panamanian and Latin American participants from the public, private and civic sectors. She explained how human trafficking, an increasingly lucrative crime is levering new technologies like cryptocurrencies and mobile payments to move the proceeds. These evolving methods of money laundering related to trafficking in persons need to be detected and disrupted. This annual conference convenes experts and practitioners from the Americas to examine emerging trends and challenges in illicit financial flows and share best practices to safeguard the international financial system.