Money laundering. Terrorist financing. Drug trafficking. Arms smuggling. Illicit trafficking of wildlife, human organs, and ancient artifacts. Tax havens. Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Oil bunkering. Human smuggling and modern-day slavery. Conflict minerals and blood diamonds.

These are not just abstract terms, but billion-dollar globalized industries embedded in the world’s interconnected economy. They overlap with and exacerbate terrorism, war and conflict, corruption, authoritarianism, and other contemporary security threats.

The Illicit Trade Summer School pierces the veil of secrecy surrounding these issues, teaching students about illicit finance and trade — not only through theory and academic study, but by examining the actual practices and techniques used by criminals, terrorists, and dictators to conceal profits and evade accountability, as well as the methods used to counter them.

This groundbreaking course is the first of its kind to teach illicit trade in a holistic and practically oriented way. Students will learn how to set up offshore companies and bank accounts, obscure the beneficial ownership of assets, exploit loopholes in dual-use goods regulations, and identify vulnerabilities across institutions, countries, and jurisdictions.

The summer school combines academic and practical learning on illicit finance, trafficking, and trade; includes field visits to practitioners engaged in countering these threats; and features expert-led sessions on strategies and practices to combat illicit trade.

Course Coordinators