Financial institutions face new challenges in identifying human trafficking payments following the federal government’s dismantlement of Backpage.com, the most widely used high-profile website for advertising prostitution, say sources.
Several U.S. banks have intensified their efforts to spot sex trafficking payments following the federal shutdown of Backpage.com, including by cross-referencing their own know-your-customer data against dozens of other websites that advertise potentially illicit adult services.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas announced that the website CityXGuide.com was seized and its owner charged with money laundering and promotion of prostitution in a newly unsealed 28-count federal indictment.
June 19, 2020