Greenlaundering: a typology of the laundering of natural resources

Abstract The high value and increasing scarcity of natural resources have attracted criminal entrepreneurs operating within the legal economy. A prominent example of environmental crime with severe ecological consequences is greenlaundering, the process by which illegally obtained natural resources are transformed into ‘legal products’. This includes resources extracted through clearly illegal means as well as those originating from semi-legitimate contexts. As a result, laundered products, such as timber, minerals and metals, and protected species, are marketed and sold as ‘legal’ on the international market and consumed on a large scale worldwide. Consequently, consumers purchase goods such as gold wedding rings, hardwood flooring, or products derived from endangered species as legitimate, often unknowingly contributing to environmentally harmful and illicit supply chains. This article introduces a novel case-law-based typology of natural resource laundering by applying two-step cluster analysis to 203 court cases (1995–2024) to identify empirically grounded subtypes. The two-step cluster algorithm found a cluster solution with three distinct clusters of subtypes: first, the Metamorphosis laundering cluster; second, the Papyrus laundering cluster; and, third, the Pro bono laundering cluster. The three clusters can be related to different forms of greenlaundering, albeit with nuances. The typology provides a framework for researchers, policymakers, enforcement agencies, and due diligence practitioners to understand and compare different laundering mechanisms, and to identify vulnerabilities and loopholes across natural resource supply chains.