Financial Crime Insights

Transparency will be key to managing Ukraine's reconstruction, both ensuring the efficient use of resources, and in maintaining the trust of the international community. CFCS Director Tom Keatinge joins Oleksii Dorohan, CEO of the Better Regulation Delivery Office–a Ukrainian think tank–to discuss why Ukraine must establish a strong anti-money laundering architecture, and to outline the goals of our joint project, which empowers Ukrainian civil society and journalists in this effort.

What stood out in 2022 for the team at the Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies ? Tune in to the annual festive podcast episode with Tom Keatinge, Kinga Redlowska, Stephen Reimer, Kathryn Westmore and host Alanna Putze to hear their thoughts on the illicit finance stories and surprises from the year, as well as the team's predictions for 2023.

Counterterrorist financing (CTF) efforts are a key part of tackling the emerging challenges at the nexus of finance and security. CFCS's Project CRAAFT team take you behind the scenes of their three-year journey to build stronger, more coordinated CTF capacity across the EU and its neighbourhood. Kinga Redlowska is joined by Tom Keatinge and Stephen Reimer to discuss what they've learnt about the past, present and future of CTF.

The cryptocurrency industry in South Korea is a uniquely widespread phenomenon with incredibly high demand. The country's strict capital controls and structural impediments create an arbitrage-type situation known as the ‘Kimchi Premium'. CFCS's Allison Owen speaks with Dr John Park, director of the Korea Project at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center, about his forthcoming paper, which examines the risks related to South Korea's distinct cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Cryptocurrencies offer ‘bad actors' a new opportunity to manage and launder their gains. Policymakers, supervisors and law-enforcement agencies around the globe are gradually responding, and the private sector is developing solutions to help. But are the current efforts sufficient to tackle this growing challenge? Scott Chipolina of the Financial Times moderates a discussion with Aidan Larkin of the fintech start-up Asset Reality; David Carlisle of Elliptic, a blockchain analysis provider; and RUSI's Allison Owen.

North Korea uses an array of techniques to evade sanctions. The international focus is often on the country's exploitation of technology, yet its embassies and missions also provide a valuable support network for sanctions-busting attempts. RUSI Associate Fellow Daniel Salisbury joins host Aaron Arnold to discuss his forthcoming paper on North Korean diplomats, which explores the various ways in which they facilitate sanctions evasion and procurement efforts.

Putting a stop to illicit finance matters for global security. The US and UK are well-positioned to lead this fight, but time is of the essence as dirty money continues to unravel democracy worldwide. CFCS's Tom Keatinge and Maria Nizzero join host Alanna Putze to discuss RUSI's latest policy brief, which was inspired by the Taskforce on a Transatlantic Response to Illicit Finance. Together they explore realistic ways that the two countries can strengthen global defences against this rising threat.

Fighting economic crime should not be a divisive political matter, but a unifying foe. As the UK prepares to embark on its second economic crime plan, this episode features a cross-party discussion showcasing economic crime as a consensus objective on which politicians of whatever stripe should align to drive change. CFCS's Maria Nizzero is joined by Baroness Kramer of the Liberal Democrats, Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake, Scottish National Party MP Alison Thewliss and Labour MP Pat McFadden.

Russia's war in Ukraine illustrates the dangers that unchecked kleptocracy poses to democracy. Kleptocrats and corrupt actors strategically use their vast resources to advance their interests both at home and abroad. CFCS's Isabella Chase, Adam Smith of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher LLP, and journalist Oliver Bullough discuss this growing transnational threat, its severe repercussions for international security and human rights, and what democratic alliances can do to stop it. This discussion was held in partnership with the National Endowment for Democracy.

How can the UK Financial Conduct Authority be more data-driven and innovative and apply risk-based supervision as it works with its regulated populations? RUSI Associate Fellow Dr Noémi També joins CFCS's Kathryn Westmore to discuss her recent paper on Revolutionising Financial Supervision. Together, they identify the challenges that more technologically advanced institutions – such as FinTechs and challenger banks – face regarding supervision.

How do terrorists procure and protect their funds, and are the policies currently in place to counter this fit for purpose? RUSI Associate Fellow and terrorism expert Jessica Davis joins CFCS's Stephen Reimer for a discussion on her latest book, Illicit Money. They explore why new thinking is needed to tackle terrorist financing, including an understanding of the complex ways in which funds are raised, used, moved and stored.

Independent journalism and civil society are vibrant in the Balkans. Yet kleptocracy and corruption stifle the region's progress and the prospects for individual EU accession. Leila Bičakčić, executive director of the Centre for Investigative Reporting (CIN) in Sarajevo, joins RUSI Europe's Kinga Redlowska to discuss the multifaceted challenges of illicit finance in the Balkans, including the region's complex history, the influence of Russia and China, and the implications for Europe and beyond.

Investigative journalist Geoff White discusses his new book The Lazarus Heist. It's the story of how North Korea has harnessed cutting-edge technology to pursue a highly effective campaign of cyber-raids to fund its economy. This has included the exploitation of central banks, cryptocurrency exchanges, Hollywood film studios and the UK's National Health Service. Geoff is joined by CFCS's Tom Keatinge and Allison Owen to dive into the mechanics of this cybercriminal threat and its implications for democracies.

Kleptocracy is one of the foremost financial crimes of our time. The role of grassroots actors in holding governments and corrupt actors to account is vital, particularly when it comes to catching illicit funds before they disappear into the global financial system. Host Alanna Putze is joined by CFCS colleagues Tom Keatinge and Maria Sofia Reiser to discuss a project that aims to strengthen the capabilities of investigative journalists and civil society in ‘the first mile' of financial crime.

Journalist and author Oliver Bullough delves into his latest book, Butler to the World, which reveals how Britain came to assume its role as the centre of the offshore economy. He joins CFCS's Tom Keatinge and Helena Wood to discuss how so many elements of modern Britain have been put at the service of the world's oligarchs and kleptocrats with disastrous global consequences, what this means within the context of Russia's war in Ukraine, and whether change is realistic.

What stood out for the Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies team in 2021? Tune in to the annual festive podcast episode with Isabella Chase, Aaron Arnold, Stephen Reimer and Helena Wood to find out about the financial crime scandals and surprises of 2021 and hear the team's predictions for the year ahead.

Criminals, malign actors and kleptocrats easily find homes in the UK and US for their ill-gotten gains thanks to professional enablers, who are an Achilles' heel in the fight against illicit finance. CFCS's Tom Keatinge ponders how to make a step-change in addressing this challenge. Joining him are Katie Benson of Manchester University, the German Marshall Fund's Josh Rudolph, Moyara Ruehsen of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism's Franz Wild.

Is the existing counterterrorist financing regime useful for tackling the far-right threat? At the launch of RUSI's Far-Right Extremism and Terrorism programme, CFCS's Tom Keatinge is joined by RUSI's Stephen Reimer, Bethan Johnson of the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right, Jacob Davey of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and Brenna Smith from The New York Times to discuss fundraising strategies of the far right, and how these compare to the financing of transnational jihadist groups.

The principle that ‘crime shouldn't pay' is enshrined in various anti-financial crime standards, yet only 2% of global criminal proceeds are frozen, and only 1% confiscated. With public finances increasingly strained, CFCS's Helena Wood explores whether it is time to reconsider the role of private sector actors in the fight against criminal wealth with Katherine Mulhern of Restitution Impact, former detective Jonathan Benton of Intelligent Sanctuary and Aidan Larkin of Asset Reality.

The US and UK have intensified their focus on tackling money laundering, kleptocracy and corruption. Now, words need to translate into action. RUSI set up a Taskforce on a Transatlantic Response to Illicit Finance (TARIF) to provide urgent input into the policy debate. CFCS's Tom Keatinge is joined by Taskforce members Moyara Ruehsen of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and Lord Garnier QC to give the scoop on the first meeting and discuss why any solution must start at home.

Around the world, misapplied AML/CFT measures facilitate the politically driven restriction of civic and political freedoms, threatening fundamental human rights. In the final episode of our series, Stephen Reimer looks at the future trajectory of abuse of FATF's standards, with guests Anietie Ewang of Human Rights Watch, leading law firm Peters & Peters' Michael O'Kane, Alyssa Yamamoto of the Mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights while Countering Terrorism, and Chapter Four Uganda's Nicholas Opiyo.

How are FATF's unintended consequences reverberating in the present day? In part two of our series, Isabella Chase speaks to Maha Bahou from Jordan Payments and Clearing Company, Revolut Poland's Adam Anklewicz, and Cenfri's Barry Cooper about FATF's work on financial exclusion, and how the Task Force's unintended consequences working group could help mitigate negative impacts of FATF's framework on financial inclusion.

In this first episode of a three-part series, Tom Keatinge is joined by Lia van Broekhoven from Human Security Collective, IAMTN's Veronica Studsgaard, Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri of Spaces for Change, and Wendy Delmar from the Caribbean Association of Banks to assess FATF's past, delving into the standard-setter's efforts in relation to Non-Profit Organisations, Money Service Businesses, and correspondent banking.

In June 2020, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) urged countries to increase the use of financial investigations into illegal wildlife trade cases. A year on, in July 2021, it published a further analysis on mineral, waste and timber trafficking. In advance of the FATF's upcoming October plenary, Tom Keatinge and Alexandria Reid take a deep dive into the thornier aspects of the FATF's current approach to environmental crime.

Two years into the UK's Economic Crime Plan (ECP), a third of identified actions are complete and half underway. But has it made a tangible dent in economic crime? Associate Fellow Helena Wood joins Isabella Chase to discuss RUSI's current and future programme of work related to the ECP. They also comment on what the ECP has achieved so far, where the gaps are and what is likely to lie ahead in its final year of execution.

Both the scale and severity of ransomware attacks are on the rise. Action is urgently required, but what is the best response to these online challenges? The CFCS's Tom Keatinge is joined by Jen Ellis of Rapid7, Elliptic's Simone Maini, the University of Oxford's Ciaran Martin, Graeme Newman from CFC Underwriting, and journalist and author Misha Glenny to discuss current efforts to combat this threat, and the most reasonable policy interventions available to governments and the private sector.

The UK is not alone in facing challenges in ensuring the efficacy of its legal framework around beneficial ownership disclosure. Tom Keatinge asks CFCS colleague Anton Moiseienko, Global Financial Integrity's Lakshmi Kumar, Transparency International EU's Laure Brillaud, and Jersey's George Pearmain: how should beneficial ownership information be best exploited to meet the needs of those using the information, and to prevent money laundering and illicit finance activities?

Freeport development is an integral part of the UK's post-Brexit trade strategy. Although free-trade zones (FTZs) are frequently hailed as a harbinger of economic development and increased ease of doing business, their financial crime and illicit trade risks are often poorly understood. The CFCS's Emil Dall speaks to colleagues Anton Moiseienko, Isabella Chase and Alexandria Reid about their research project on FTZs, and how governments and the private sector can assess their crime risks.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has committed to promoting financial inclusion via the proportionate implementation of its standards. Yet, approximately 1.7 billion people globally have no access to a bank or mobile money account. Clearly, there is more work to be done. CFCS's Isabella Chase joins Alanna Putze to discuss the impact of FATF on digital financial inclusion and the steps that it can take to promote broader access to finance, while maintaining global financial crime controls.

The impact of illicit finance is often dominated by discussions on the technical deficiencies of a country's AML/CTF regime, but money laundering, corruption, kleptocracy, fraud and other financial crimes are far from victimless. The CFCS's Stephen Reimer discusses his new research looking at the human harms of illicit finance, illustrating its varied and destructive consequences through several case studies, including the Luanda Leaks, the 2020 Beirut explosion, and the Moldova bank scandal.

The UK's Integrated Review, published in March 2021, provided considerable indications of the UK's ambition to tackle money laundering and other financial crimes. Matthew Redhead speaks to CFCS colleagues Tom Keatinge, Helena Wood and Emil Dall about the attention given by the Review to – respectively – illicit finance, UK economic crime, and sanctions, as a dimension of the UK's foreign, security and defence policy. RUSI's Keith Ditcham lends to this discussion his serious and organised crime perspective.

Fraud against UK citizens, businesses, and the public purse has reached unprecedented levels. But does the political narrative in response to this scourge match the enormity of the challenge? The CFCS's Helena Wood and Tom Keatinge are joined by RUSI Trustee and former UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd, and Mike Haley from fraud prevention service Cifas, to discuss the findings of a new RUSI research paper calling for a fundamentally different approach to fraud in the UK, one which would place the topic into the context of national security.

Following the recent wave of attacks by far-right extremists around the world, the task of throttling the financing of right-wing terrorism and extremism has seldom been more pressing. The CFCS's Stephen Reimer speaks with Bethan Johnson, a scholar on modern extremist and terrorist ideologies at Cambridge University, about trends in the financial activities of far-right violent elements, their fundraising and spending habits, and the impact of the current pandemic on their future financing.

The emergence of new financial services and methods of payment has brought greater variety and choice, but as with many innovations, the advantages have not been lost on criminal groups. Standard Chartered's Catherine Woods is joined by colleague Chris Kiewsmith, the CFCS's Kayla Izenman, Vincent Li from Ant Bank, and RUSI Associate Fellow Malcolm Wright to consider the current financial threat landscape in relation to new methods of payment, how money laundering can be detected, and priorities and best practices for managing exposure.

Policing is essential to the UK's response to economic crime, yet it is an area that the government all too often overlooks. In this episode, recorded in February 2020, CFCS Associate Fellow Helena Wood is joined by Commander Karen Baxter of the National Police Chiefs' Council, as well as by Waheed Saleem from the West Midlands Police, and Graeme Biggar from the National Economic Crime Centre in a debate on what policing needs to be if it is to tackle current and emerging economic crime threats.

Twenty years on from the 9/11 attacks, has the global response to terrorist financing adapted, alongside the evolving risk landscape? The CFCS's Tom Keatinge is joined by Rachel Love from Standard Chartered Bank and Professor Jimmy Gurulé from Notre Dame Law School in the US to discuss the CFCS's recent paper, ‘A sharper image: Advancing a Risk-Based Response to Terrorist Financing' and examine the current state of counterterrorist financing efforts.  

RUSI's Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies (CFCS) is launching Season Three of their Suspicious Transaction Report podcast. The theme is ‘Policy into Practice' and episodes will feature experts and practitioners from around the world, who turn global policy into reality on the ground. In the trailer episode, Isabella Chase talks to Tom Keatinge about the thinking behind the series and what guests can expect.

Dirty money is flooding the global economy, emboldening dictators and poisoning democracies. Journalist Tom Burgis unveils the stories that form his book Kleptopia. Alexandra Wrage of Trace moderates and together they take us into the murky realm of global illicit flows.   

In February 2020, the UK government launched a consultation on its plans to establish up to 10 freeports in the UK. Alexandria Reid is joined by Richard Ballantyne from the British Ports Association, Consultant Clay Fuller, and Irene Mia from the Economist Intelligence Unit, to ask, how can the UK reap the benefits of its proposed freeports while mitigating criminal risks.

2020 was a roller coaster for Unexplained Wealth Orders in the UK! CFCS's Anton Moiseienko takes stock of the setbacks and triumphs with barristers Anita Clifford and James Mather and Alun Milford, former General Counsel at the Serious Fraud Office. Together they explore what the future may hold for UWOs. 

The Financial Action Task Force has undoubtedly raised financial crime compliance standards around the world, but money laundering remains a present and growing issue. CFCS's Isabella Chase is joined by FATF Executive Secretary David Lewis, AML Consultant Richard Chalmers, Giles Thomson, the Deputy Director of HM Treasury's Sanctions and Illicit Finance Team, CFCS Associate Fellow Matthew Redhead, and Northumbria University's Professor Jackie Harvey, to consider the implications of, and way forward with, FATF's planned Strategic Review. 

Terrorists of all types exploit technology to raise, use and move funds. CFCS's Stephen Reimer speaks with security consultant and former Canadian intelligence analyst Jessica Davis about terrorists' new–and often surprising–financing tactics and why financial intelligence is of vital importance. 

The UK regularly finds itself at the centre of money laundering and corruption scandals. But how dire is the situation, really, and is there any hope for change? Author Oliver Bullough does a reality check Rachel Davies Teka of Transparency International UK, Phil Mason, formerly with DFID's anti-corruption unit, Professor Elizabeth David-Barret University of Sussex and CFCS's Tom Keatinge.

No matter who wins, the US sanctions strategy is sure to be impacted by the upcoming election. How will the results affect Washington's current favoured foreign policy tool? Emil Dall speaks with Elizabeth Rosenberg of the Center for New American Security, Nicholas Turner of Steptoe & Johnson Hong Kong Sascha Lohmann of the SWP (German Institute for International and Security Affairs.)

Has foreign ‘dark money' undermined democracy as we know it? And can a solution lie in a smarter understanding of financial flows? Tom Keatinge is joined by analyst Edward Lucas, Gemma Rogers of Fintrail and Josh Rudolph of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. This episode forms part of a series that examines the impact of the 2020 US elections on global illicit finance.

Much is at stake for the global fight against kleptocracy in 2020 and beyond. Hear why the US election results could be a turning point with former government lawyer Elise Bean, author Ben Judah, Alexandra Wrage of TRACE and CFCS's Anton Moiseienko.

Alanna Putze talks to CFCS colleagues Isabella Chase and Tom Keatinge about the thinking behind this podcast and what listeners can expect – from the speakers, topics and ideas in the world of financial crime that will be covered in the episodes.