Managing money acquired from human trafficking: case study of sex trafficking from Bulgaria to Western Europe

Often the criminal activities, especially organized criminal groups are aimed at generating large amounts of money in a short period of time. However, the criminal organizations differ in their approach to revenue management. This article focuses on the management of proceeds acquired from human trafficking and presents the results of an empirical study on the topic. This study is based on 152 semi-structured interviews conducted with sex workers, traffickers, law-enforcement representatives, and prosecutors. The article explores the movement of money within the criminal organizations, the methods of bookkeeping and accounting, and the basic techniques for laundering the proceeds acquired from sex trafficking from Bulgaria to Western Europe. By describing how the criminals engaged in human trafficking for sexual exploitation manage the money generated from this type of criminal activity, a better understanding of the criminal phenomenon itself can be attained.