The IOTA Webinar on Social Network Analysis – Use of the Network Analysis to Detect Tax Frauds was held 10th March 2021. It was IOTA’s largest digital event so far, with over 320 participants joining to watch.
Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a process carried out with the use of implemented models, based on data derived from a variety of data sources. It enables analysis of the network of connections between entities in an interactive and automatic mode. The tool can help in a vast variety of cases concerning tax frauds, such as identifying the missing trader in carousel fraud schemes or during debt collection processes.
The IOTA Webinar on SNA welcomed four presenters, namely from Australia, Poland, the Netherlands and Norway.
The first presentation by Tyson Fawcett (World Bank Consultant and the University of Technology, Australia) gave an overview of Data Analytics and Social Network Analytics. He also discussed in more detail the Automated Network & Grouping Identification Engine (ANGIE) developed in Australia, the data lifecycle model, the enterprise approach to the use of data, as well as the use of web crawlers.
Secondly, Hans J.A. Buijtelaar (Anti Money Laundering Centre - AMLC) from the Netherlands provided a thorough explanation of why SNA needs smart tooling. Specifically, the mission and principles of the AMLC, the AMLC Suite, its data framework. His presentation concluded with a practical presentation of the AMLC browser.
The Polish SNA solution ’ARANEUM - the use of SNA techniques and graph databases to VAT fraud detection’ was covered by Krzysztof Śledzikowski, who works at the Polish National Revenue Administration. He also finished his presentation by showcasing practical examples of the software explained earlier.
The last presentation of the IOTA webinar by So Young Kim (Norwegian Tax Administration) showed the Norwegian approach of the use of SNA, specifically in the fight against cross-border VAT fraud.
To this day, the webinar on SNA has been IOTA’s largest digital event in terms of participants. This resulted in a lively and interesting Q&A session at the end of the webinar, discussing topics such as data quality or cryptoassests.
The full presentations as well as the recording of the two-hour webinar are available for IOTA members on the event page.