Nasdaq® Verafin Report Finds the Financial Crime Epidemic Reaching Alarming New Heights as Illicit Financial Activity Surges to $4.4 Trillion in 2025
Rhea-AI Summary
Nasdaq Verafin (NDAQ) released the 2026 Global Financial Crime Report, estimating global illicit financial activity at $4.4 trillion in 2025, a $1.3 trillion increase since 2023 and a two‑year compound annual growth rate of 19.2%.
Key typologies: $1.1T drug trafficking (17.1% annualized growth), $528.5B human trafficking (23.5%), $16.2B terrorist financing (18.8%). Fraud and scams totaled $579.4B, with scam losses at $62B and 19.3% CAGR. The report cites widespread AI use by criminals and a 90% survey response showing increased AI-driven attacks. Nasdaq Verafin pledged private‑sector convenings with UNODC, beginning Oct 20 at Nasdaq MarketSite.
Positive
- Nasdaq Verafin pledged private‑sector convenings with UNODC starting Oct 20
- Report developed with Celent and Oliver Wyman, adding credibility
- Public release highlights coordinated cross‑sector collaboration blueprint
Negative
- Global illicit financial activity reached $4.4 trillion in 2025
- Illicit flows grew $1.3 trillion since 2023 (19.2% two‑year CAGR)
- Fraud and scam losses totaled $579.4 billion globally
- 90% of survey respondents reported increased AI‑driven attacks
News Market Reaction – NDAQ
On the day this news was published, NDAQ declined 2.40%, reflecting a moderate negative market reaction. Our momentum scanner triggered 16 alerts that day, indicating notable trading interest and price volatility. This price movement removed approximately $1.17B from the company's valuation, bringing the market cap to $47.73B at that time.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
NDAQ was down 0.51% with relatively light volume, while key peers MSCI, ICE, COIN, MCO, and CME also showed declines between about -0.94% and -3.87%. Momentum scanner only flagged FDS moving down, indicating mostly stock-specific trading rather than a broad, high-conviction sector rotation.
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 09 | Tokenization initiative | Positive | -0.4% | Issuer-centered equity token design targeting H1 2027 operational readiness. |
| Mar 05 | Monthly volumes | Neutral | +0.2% | Release of February 2026 trading volume statistics for investor review. |
| Mar 05 | Exchange launch | Positive | -1.0% | Launch of Nasdaq Texas with inaugural dual listings after SEC approval. |
| Feb 26 | Investor conferences | Neutral | -1.1% | Planned executive presentations at two early-March investor conferences. |
| Feb 25 | Short interest data | Neutral | +5.5% | Publication of mid-month open short interest statistics across Nasdaq securities. |
Recent corporate and market-structure updates have generally produced modest single-day moves, with one notable >5% reaction to a short interest statistics release.
Over the past few weeks, Nasdaq has focused on market-structure innovation, operational milestones, and transparency updates. Announcements included an issuer-centered equity token design targeting operational readiness by H1 2027, February 2026 volume statistics, and the launch of Nasdaq Texas with inaugural dual listings. Investor conference participation and detailed short interest statistics also featured, with only the mid-month short interest update driving a sizeable 5.48% move, underscoring selective sensitivity to trading-activity data.
Market Pulse Summary
This announcement highlights Nasdaq Verafin’s expanded analysis of global financial crime, estimating illicit activity at $4.4 trillion with a 19.2% two-year CAGR. It underscores rising risks from AI-driven scams and outlines planned collaboration with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Investors may track how these insights translate into product demand, partnerships, and the role of Nasdaq’s technology and data capabilities in helping institutions address these threats.
Key Terms
compound annual growth rate financial
terrorist financing regulatory
money laundering regulatory
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
Criminal Networks Leverage Technological Advancements to Drive Fraud Losses of Over Half a Trillion Dollars Worldwide
To Accelerate Efforts to Combat Fraud and Scams, Nasdaq Verafin to Announce Pledge to Catalyze Private Sector Collaboration with UN Office on Drugs and Crime
NEW YORK, March 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nasdaq Verafin has released its 2026 Global Financial Crime Report, the second edition of a comprehensive research initiative that provides insights into the scope and scale of financial crime worldwide. Combining proprietary data modeling, a survey of more than 500 financial crime professionals, and in-depth interviews with senior executives, this report provides the company’s most rigorous analysis of industry threats, priorities, and opportunities to date.
The 2026 Global Financial Crime Report found that since 2023 illicit financial activity has surged by
$1.1 trillion in drug trafficking activity, with annualized growth of17.1% $528.5 billion in human trafficking, with annualized growth of23.5% $16.2 billion in terrorist financing, with annualized growth of18.8%
In addition, fraud scams and bank fraud schemes led to
“We are currently in the midst of a full-blown financial crime crisis, powered by criminal networks that are leveraging AI to super-charge scam playbooks and operating with the scale and coordination of multinational corporations,” said Stephanie Champion, Executive Vice President and Head of Nasdaq Verafin. “While AI has emerged as a key tool for criminals, the industry recognizes the potential of the technology to become its most valuable asset in the fight against financial crime. Cutting-edge technology, combined with improved public-private and private-private collaboration creates a network effect, magnifying the reach of our collective efforts and helping remove criminals from the financial system for good.”
Financial institutions are on the front lines of the fight against financial crime, but they cannot defeat criminal threats alone. The scale and complexity of today’s crisis require collective action across every sector impacted by the financial crime ecosystem. Embedded throughout the 2026 Global Financial Crime Report are spotlights on organizations demonstrating coordinated action in the fight against financial crime. The organizations highlighted in this report offer a blueprint for what successful collaboration looks like between the public and private sector, as well as between financial institutions and across industries.
To further advance collaborative efforts in the fight against financial crime, Nasdaq Verafin is announcing a pledge to support the efforts of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to combat financial crime and fraud by mobilizing collective action within the private sector. Nasdaq Verafin, with the substantive contribution of UNODC, will host a series of convenings of private sector leaders at the center of the fight against financial crime, beginning with a special in-person summit on October 20th at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York. The convenings will include workshops and roundtables focused on emerging threats and actionable steps for improving cross-sector collaboration to fight fraud, scams, and money laundering.
The 2026 Global Financial Crime Report was produced by Nasdaq Verafin in collaboration with Celent and Oliver Wyman, leveraging a custom data model developed from public and private sources to calculate scale of global crime.
To read the full report and learn more about Nasdaq Verafin’s pledge to fight financial crime, please visit: https://verafin.com/nasdaq-verafin-global-financial-crime-report.
About Nasdaq Verafin
Nasdaq Verafin provides Financial Crime Management Technology solutions for Fraud Detection and Management, AML/CFT Compliance and Management, High Risk Customer Management, Sanctions Screening and Management, and Information Sharing. More than 2,750 financial institutions, representing
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
Information set forth in this release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Nasdaq cautions readers that any forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “will,” “may”, and other words and terms of similar meaning. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements related to future activities and results. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond Nasdaq’s control. These risks and uncertainties are detailed in Nasdaq’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q which are available on Nasdaq’s investor relations website at http://ir.nasdaq.com and the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Nasdaq undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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Media Contacts:
Nick Eghtessad
+1.929.996.8894
Nick.Eghtessad@Nasdaq.com
Jonny Blostone
+44 (0) 7345 776 179
Jonny.Blostone@Nasdaq.com
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