Researcher Warns Rhino Horn Trade Open to Laundering

Researcher Eliode Bakole says legal rhino-horn supply chains in South Africa may be vulnerable to criminal laundering.

Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Financial Crime

Researcher Warns Rhino Horn Trade Open to Laundering

Live Poll

Do you trust legal wildlife trade to avoid fueling illegal trafficking?

Researcher Eliode Bakole warned that legal rhino-horn supply chains in South Africa may be vulnerable to criminal laundering. He presented his research at the 24-hour Global Organised Crime Conference.

Why it matters

South Africa's rhino population reached an estimated minimum of 15,096 at the end of 2025, a 4.9% increase from 2024, while poaching continues. Vulnerabilities in legal horn supply chains could allow illegal horn to enter trade channels.

Bakole's research identifies five forms of laundering in the rhino-horn trade and notes many recorded cases of theft from horn stockpiles. The extent to which these methods are used in South Africa's legal supply chain remains unresolved.

The players

Eliode Bakole

Bakole is a PhD candidate at Utrecht University's Willem Pompe Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology and is affiliated with the University of Cape Town's Global Risk Governance Programme.

Kruger National Park

Kruger National Park is one of South Africa's largest national parks and a major habitat for rhinos.

The details

Bakole, a PhD candidate at Utrecht University's Willem Pompe Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology and affiliated with the University of Cape Town's Global Risk Governance Programme, described pseudo-hunters posing as professional hunters as a way to exploit the trophy-hunting system. Trophy hunting is governed by annual quotas and permits, which makes oversight and verification important.

End of 2025: South Africa's rhino population is estimated at a minimum of 15,096.
January to August 2026: 230 rhinos were poached nationally.
First eight months of 2026: Kruger National Park lost 114 rhinos to poaching.
Shortly before 11 November 2026: Bakole presented his research at the Global Organised Crime Conference.

Legal Context

South Africa's trophy-hunting system is governed by annual quotas and permits, which the research identifies as a point where oversight and verification matter most. The same legal framework that enables regulated rhino hunting is the one researchers say criminals may try to exploit.

Stronger verification of legal rhino-horn stockpiles and hunting permits could affect how the trade is monitored in South Africa. Changes to oversight would most directly affect hunting operators, horn owners, and the enforcement agencies that track legal supply.

The takeaway

Strong verification of legal rhino-horn stockpiles and hunting permits is central to protecting the species from criminal exploitation. The research suggests that oversight gaps in a regulated system can be as important as the poaching itself.