Top 5 Unusual Dark Web Money Laundering Methods

In the modern world, transferring value means moving money and the process has become less physical over time. People started out exchanging goods and services through bartering, trading physical goods for something of equal value; minted coins largely replaced the barter system. Banknotes then replaced coins and, today, most value is transferred by moving money on invisible virtual rails using mathematics most of us will never comprehend. However, money laundering methods often cannot make use of these virtual rails due to harsh enforcement and compliance concerns.

What happens then, when these advanced systems are unavailable to the user? Accessing the standard financial system requires technology, record keeping, and validation. When criminals and others outside the legitimate world want to remain undetected, they often return to the old ways. On the dark web, the ancient barter system remains alive and well as a means of moving illegal proceeds, evading sanctions, financing terrorism, or funding an oppressive regime. This article discusses five of the most unusual and surprising money laundering methods dark web merchants use to transfer value.

Jet fuel

Armies of the past ran on their stomachs, the armed forces of today run on fuel tanks. Dark web advertisements offering jet fuel, “petroleum gas”, crude oil, and diesel are surprisingly common.  In the developed world, fuel tanks are carefully protected and gasoline pumps heavily regulated. It sounds like something out of a 1980’s action movie to imagine a man with a duffel bag full of drug cash exchanging it for a truck full of leaky barrels of jet fuel in the middle of a remote forest. Trading in such a volatile commodity could have explosive unintended consequences.

Yet, it makes sense: a military tank with no fuel is just a pillbox and a fighter jet with an empty tank is just an attractive target. Purchasing off-the-books fuel with undeposited illicit funds would be immensely beneficial to a warlord trying to keep control of a remote area. Especially since, in such places, pulling up to a gas station is not a safe or convenient option. From a money laundering point of view, such an exchange skips the placement and layering phases, and goes straight to integration with no paper trail. It is an unconventional and highly effective way to operate, despite the risks.

Zimbabwean gold coins: The Mosi Oa Tunya  

Using the family of small valuable items like gold coins, diamonds, gems and other precious metals is not new, but the Mosi Oa Tunya gold coin sticks out as unusually exotic. In 2022 the government of Zimbabwe minted only 2,000 of these gold coins, weighing one troy ounce, and originally only made them available for purchase by citizens, with documentary controls. While raw gold and cut diamonds are obviously valuable, it is difficult for a layperson to determine how valuable such an item may be. Therefore, when a government mints a coin, the purity and weight become standardized and verifiable, making it safe to use as a medium of exchange. Combine the Mosi Oa Tunya’s established purity with its limited issuance and purchase availability, not to mention the arbitrage potential, and they become incredibly useful as a way of conducting high-value transactions in person. On the dark web, of course, any advertisement for selling such coins might itself be a scam but, if the posting is legitimate, it is an excellent way for criminals to establish trust and exchange value outside of the mainstream financial system.

Agricultural Products

This column already covered the phenomenon of hiding cocaine in banana shipments, but that was a smuggling technique rather than an exchange of value. On the dark web, it is common to seek agricultural commodities offered as a means to move the value itself. Much like slopping illicit diesel all over the countryside, it seems immensely risky to accept anything perishable (like bulk grain or dairy) as payment for a debt or exchange for currency. Yet, in many developing regions, food is not only a commodity but serves as a weapon of control over a population that cannot feed itself. Much like owning fuel offers a warlord maneuverability to control territory, owning a large food source allows one to purchase human loyalty and commitment. Therefore, the value of trading illicit currency for agricultural commodities can enhance the power and influence of the criminal organization as much or more than the money itself. 

Video games often involve some kind of in-game currency that is used to purchase items and upgrade capabilities. This means of value transfer is a centralized digital currency, managed by the company that owns the game, and is a cousin of decentralized cryptocurrencies. There are entire economies inside of games where individuals buy and sell special items to generate real wealth upon cashing out. Robux, the centralized currency for wealth within the Roblox world, is mentioned by name in numerous dark web offerings and message boards.

Roblox Robux

It is difficult to exchange Robux for fiat dollars, requiring verified email and other know-your-customer documentation. However, that does not stop individuals from gifting Robux inside the game and receiving payment in dollars outside the digital ecosystem. As a store of value for game enthusiasts, the decentralized currency can simply be passed from one user to another on the platform, while mirror transactions exchange the equivalent in real life. Such exchanges are nearly invisible to traditional anti-financial crimes programs, making this one of the more interesting and usual money laundering methods available.

Dark wealth management

The entire financial system has an evil twin on the dark web. There are advertisements offering private equity connections, investment management, and capital markets transactions. While the average person can hardly define these terms, criminals have developed staggeringly sophisticated operations to provide every known financial service to those who wish to keep their dealings secret. Many of these transactions would necessarily require an insider to compromise the legitimate institution, and the dark web is similarly full of advertisements offering the services of “Innies” at banks, brokerages, and investment firms. 

Finding the Invisible

There is no easy way to combat money laundering methods that take place completely outside the record-keeping requirements of standard financial institutions. Searching for illicit diesel or stolen grain is the business of police forces and militaries, not banks. But investigators can still look for indicators that lead law enforcement in the right direction. To spot such activity, look for transactions involving large, unusual commodities purchases, or exchanges of precious metal and gems that don’t align with the business. Those indicators, as well as the use of small boutique wealth management companies with limited public disclosure or KYC requirements, may be a window into the unusual world of illicit finance and modern bartering.