Organized crime, including money laundering, drains $1.96T from the global economy annually

See the increase in financial crimes globally on a map

The Global Organized Crime Index tracks annual shifts in organized crime, ranging from drug and human trafficking to financial crimes. The map shows crime levels for each country, as well as a profile of the country's annual shifts.

As of 2025, an estimated $3.2B in annual revenue flows through dark web platforms

The untraceable cryptocurrency Monero is used in about 60% of transactions across more than 37 active marketplaces that sell copyrighted materials, private information, and phishing kits—tools that help bad actors more easily create fake sites to steal users' data—for financial fraud.

Why is cocaine worth so much?

The global cocaine trade is worth an estimated $100B a year. But, where does that money go, who is spending it, and who is making it? Vice follows the money to understand why the cocaine business functions the way it does. From illicitly growing...

A former financial crime investigator says Hollywood has done a pretty good job depicting money laundering

A former financial crime investigator says "Narcos" and "Ozark" have pretty realistic scenes, but other well-known financial crime depictions like "The Wolf of Wall Street" are off base. Some of the main inconsistencies include overly dramatic gunfights and unrealistic cash amounts.

Anti-money laundering laws forcing banks to report data have become important foreign policy tools

Since the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, which required banks to report transactions exceeding $10K and keep records on customers, anti-money laundering laws have become an important proxy for American foreign policy initiatives. Increased regulation via financial institutions helps curb drug and human trafficking, as well as destabilize the financial infrastructure for terrorist organizations.

How drug trafficking undermines West Africa

The rise of drug trafficking is undermining institutions, public health, and development efforts in West Africa. According to the West African Commission on Drugs, civil wars have receded, democracy has gained ground, and economies are growing in...

More than $2.6B has been laundered through US real estate in the past 20 years

All cash real estate transactions don't require extensive background and identity checks, creating a loophole for criminals who would otherwise be flagged for suspicious behavior to clean large amounts of money with one purchase. Real estate prices are easily manipulated and can be used to generate more income by renting the space, making it an attractive and common tool for money laundering.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Money laundering is a three-step process: placement, layering, and integration

"Placement" occurs when dirty money is introduced into the financial system. Then "layering" happens when the money is moved around to disguise where it actually came from. Finally, the money is placed in other assets or investments in a step called integration.

A Chinese-Mexican alliance marked one of history's largest nonviolent money laundering schemes

In 2019, Chinese-American gangster Xizhi Li was arrested for an expansive money laundering scheme spanning four continents. Li reportedly laundered hundreds of millions of dollars for cartel members, wealthy Chinese Americans, and other foreign countries.

Some estimate that roughly 70% of artifacts in museums are stolen

New York City assistant district attorney Matthew Bogdano targets the illicit art world. Bogdano claims that traders and traffickers of stolen art have often been able to get away with their crimes due to their connections with members of the elite. His efforts have led to the recovery of around 4,500 antiquities valued at around $300M.

About one dollar in every six that are owed to the federal government aren't paid each year

That adds up to close to $1T in what's known as the "tax gap." Read a breakdown on the main drivers of tax evasion (distinct from legal tax avoidance) in the US.

Iran-Iraq war drained over $1T from the combined economies of Iran and Iraq

Across eight years (1980-88), Iran and Iraq each lost about $500 B in GDP, infrastructure destruction, military expenses, disrupted oil exports, and mounting debt—totaling over $1 T in economic damage.

How organized crime took over post-Soviet Russia

After more than seven decades of Soviet communism, the collapse of the system in the early 1990s opened a path for organized crime to take over the country's newly-privatized industries. As Vladimir Putin centralized power in the subsequent decades, he did not vanquish the mafia, but rather tamed it. This long read explores the subtle, complex ways organized crime flourishes within Putin's state.

Consumers will use digital payment processing for nearly $40T in spending by 2028

That's just one signal of the industry's massive growth. Investments in the global fintech industry have grown from $4B in 2010 to $92.3B in 2021, as both businesses and consumers seem to quickly adopt new fintech products, from digital payment apps to robo-advisers.

Visualizing the world's wealth in 2019

The world has a net worth of $360T. The U.S. economy continues to dominate given its sheer size, Asia and Europe are not that far behind.

How massive cargo ships fight off modern pirates

Piracy on the high seas costs a reported $16 billion each year from either theft or damage incurred during an attempt to pirate massive cargo ships. This video breaks down several ways companies attempt to fend off would-be thieves. Pirate crews are...

The potential for weight loss drugs to transform the economy

In 2023, Americans spent more than $50B on weight loss drugs, a number expected to triple by the end of the decade. However, because of the wide range of obesity-linked health issues, widespread adoption of the treatments could transform the wider economy.

The Department of Justice spent $44B in 2024

In fiscal year 2024, the Department of Justice spent approximately $44B—making it the 14th-largest federal agency by total spending. Its budget funds law enforcement activities, prosecutions, prisons, and grants to state and local justice initiatives.

Discover the economic value of coral reefs, which benefit one billion people worldwide

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that US commercial and recreational fisheries valued at $200M depend on coral reefs, which provide up to $1.8B in flood protection by absorbing 97% of wave energy. Combined with the benefits from tourism, US coral reefs provide $3.4B in value annually.

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

US consumers collectively owe more than $1T to credit card companies—almost as much as they owe in auto loans.

Some banks derive half of their income from overdraft fees on checking accounts

The fees are incurred when a customer withdraws more money than is left in the account, typically around $35 per overdraft. One in 11 Americans pays more than $350 a year in such fees, generating tens of billions of dollars each year for banks..

Antimicrobial resistance is responsible for 1.3 million deaths each year

Antimicrobial resistance is a global health threat, driven by the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in humans, animals, and more. Estimates suggest superbugs could lead to $1T in healthcare costs by 2050, and the world faces a shortage of new drug development to meet the challenge.

Up to $68M in coins gets trashed every year

Waste facilities and TSA say they collect thousands of dollars of discarded money per year. A Wall Street Journal reporter visited a waste facility and learned what you can do with your extra change.

Racketeering is broad term for running an illegal scheme

Racketeering itself isn't a single crime and prosecutors tend to think about racketeering as a pattern of criminal activities, including kidnapping and money laundering. The term comes from the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO.

Prison money diaries: the thriving underground economy behind bars

How people in prison earn money, how much they spend, and the lengths to which they go to secure basic needs and comforts.

Mardi Gras has an annual economic impact of nearly $900M

Tulane University's Toni Weiss studies Mardi Gras' effect on New Orleans. Her study of the 2023 parade found that the event generated approximately $891M for the local economy. Weiss also found that the money that the city spent about $10M on the parade (for security, sanitation, and more) but earned a net fiscal benefit of $28M.

Ebola infects and disables immune cells, triggering a cascade of events that leads to small blood clots throughout the body, weakening blood vessels and interrupting blood flow to key organs.

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

The USPS spent $3.97B in 2024, accounting for .058% of the federal budget.

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in terms of casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

Fear or disgust related to clusters of holes and cracks, called trypophobia, may stem from evolutionary processes to help us avoid pathogens.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states