Tanzania has caught the Yang Feng Glan, the 66 year old mastermind behind an ivory trafficking ring.
Yang’s story is unusual. She moved to the central african nation of Tanzania in 1975, learned Swahili and became a translator. Authorities have evidence that she started trafficking in 2006. She made connections with Chinese executive, presumably through her translation work. She is currently the vice president of Tanzania China-Africa business council and the owner of a Chinese restaurant.
Tanzania’s elephant population has halved during the time Yang was involved. While she was not the only one to cause the decline, she is known to be one of the leaders of the trafficking that caused it.
He bank accounts are likely to have been seized and frozen and is probably being reviewed for any evidence of who might have purchased ivory from her.
China is known to be the leading market for elephant ivory.
In other elephant news: there is scientific evidence to show that elephant genes have developed cancer-fighting traits.
Marcus Maltempo is a compliance professional with more than a decade of experience helping banks, law firms and clients manage investigations and regulatory responses. He is a member of ACAMS and ACFE.
