FINCast

With global economic alliances shifting and new threats emerging, will the U.S. maintain its dominance in an increasingly complex world? From cryptocurrency to chips to cyberterrorist threats, the battle for global dominance is no longer just fought on the battlefield—it's playing out in markets, boardrooms, and cyberspace. In this episode, Juan Zarate sits down with Nicholas Brathwaite, founding Managing Partner at Celesta Capital. We explore how the U.S. has used its economic dominance as a powerful weapon—and whether countries like China and Russia are now using the same playbook to push back. Juan shares insights on the weaponization of the dollar, how financial crime networks are evolving in the digital age, and why strategies around cryptocurrency could either threaten or reinforce U.S. economic power. The conversation dives into the intersection of technology, economic, and national security strategy, tackling key issues like cyber threats, semiconductor supply chains, and the growing role of AI in financial security.

On FINCast Episode 39, Juan Zarate sits down with K2 Integrity's Katya Hazard and Amir Fadavi to discuss the state of Russia-related sanctions and to explore what has worked and what may require further coordinated efforts to curtail Russia's ambitions and war power. While certain “sanctions fatigue” starts to settle in, it is more important than ever to consider real costs of sanctions circumvention, including the very real risks of a sanctions designation of persons disregarding US, UK, or EU trade restrictions.

On FINCast Episode 38, Juan Zarate speaks with Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad to discuss the state of the crypto environment, the challenges for the future of the industry, and the prospects for regulatory clarity in the digital asset space.

On FINCast Episode 37, Juan Zarate sits down with Will Inboden, K2 Integrity's Michele Malvesti, and Farah Pandith to discuss the upcoming book, Hand-Off: The Foreign Policy George W. Bush Passed to Barack Obama. Tune in for a look back at the foreign policy transition between the Bush and Obama administrations from a unique group of national security and foreign policy thinkers.

On FINCast Episode 36, Juan Zarate hosts a roundtable discussion with K2 Integrity's Mariano Federici, Bryan Stirewalt, and Emma Walker to discuss what they are watching for 2023 in the financial crime and sanctions landscape. Tune in to hear what some of the most renowned senior regulators in the world are following in the regulatory and risk environment for the year ahead.

On FINCast Episode 35, Juan Zarate interviews K2 Integrity's own Bryan Stirewalt, a renowned, global financial regulator with 35 years of U.S. and international experience. Juan and Bryan discuss the challenges for regulators and the financial system in a quickly evolving digital financial and commercial world. They explore how regulators should be managing the risks inherent in the crypto ecosystem, the complexities of sanctions implementation, and the growing regulatory attention on ESG. As a global regulatory thought leader, Bryan provides reflective insights as the financial system faces a myriad of challenges in a more fractious geopolitical environment.

Stuart Levey, the first ever Under Secretary of the US Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, joins his former colleague Juan Zarate, Global Co-Managing Partner, for a one-on-one conversation about Levey's career and insights on some of the most important financial integrity topics of the day – from Russia sanctions to the state of the crypto industry. Levey brings deep experience from his storied career and in holding critical positions at some of the leading financial institutions in the world, including as Chief Legal Officer for HSBC and CEO of Diem. He shares a lifetime of lessons in financial integrity in a wide-ranging conversation with Zarate in this episode of FINCast.

Amidst the fast-moving events with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, FINCast recorded an episode on February 25, 2022, to examine developments and the role of sanctions in this seismic and complex geopolitical event. On FINCast Episode 33, Juan Zarate interviews Foundation for the Defense of Democracies' Brad Bowman and K2 Integrity's Katya Hazard about the situation on the ground, the weight and importance of sanctions as a principal tool in response, and what sanctions and financial measures against Russia mean for the ongoing conflict. With the international community now moving to isolate Russia from the financial and commercial system, this FINCast provides a snapshot of events and insights into how sanctions have been used as a tool of economic statecraft, whether to apply a maximalist sanctions approach to Russian aggression, and how the international community should respond next if sanctions cannot deter further aggression.

Few industries saw as much buzz as the world of cryptocurrency, stablecoins, and digital payments in 2021. Beyond the hype, what does the digital assets economy look like, and how are regulators and policymakers treating the crypto ecosystem? What does the future of the crypto economy, stablecoins and the financial system look like? On FINCast Episode 32, Juan Zarate interviews Circle's Dante Disparte and Mandeep Walia about the state of the digital assets economy and regulation in the space, while also diving deep on the role of stablecoins like USDC and Circle's place in the ecosystem. As new technology evolves and adoption grows, Juan, Dante, and Mandeep discuss how the risks of the digital assets economy need to be managed and how stablecoins and digital payments can help promote financial inclusion, transparency, and integrity. Tune in to this episode to hear more about the latest trends and insights on the ongoing public debate—and how the U.S. can maintain a competitive edge in the digital currency race.

The Pandora Papers: As the world absorbs the explosive revelations in the mass amounts of leaked financial documents, what do the Pandora Papers reveal about the way global elites move and hide money in the international financial system and how regulations and policies for financial transparency are working or overpowered? On this episode of FINCast, K2 Integrity's Juan Zarate hosts Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Greg Miller from The Washington Post, discussing Greg's in-depth reporting and analysis of the Pandora Papers' exposure of the challenges to financial transparency, good governance, corruption, and national security. While the reaction to illicit activity and financial secrecy ripples throughout the world, fundamental questions remain: will these revelations prompt action to address high-level corruption and financial crimes, accelerate regulatory changes to ensure transparency and accountability, and spur action to address growing economic inequity and safeguard the integrity of the global financial system?

The Taliban Takeover of Afghanistan: What does it mean for sanctions, the country's economy, and emerging financial crimes risks? Join K2 Integrity's counterterrorist financing and risk experts Danny Glaser, Eric Lorber, and Gail Fuller as they discuss with K2 Integrity's Juan Zarate the fundamental questions and effects surrounding the application of sanctions to Afghanistan, tools and leverage the U.S. and other countries may have in the economic domain, and the broader financial and commercial risks attendant to the Taliban takeover of the Afghan economy.

FINCast Afghanistan V3 by K2 Integrity

In this episode, K2 Integrity's Juan Zarate conducts a fascinating conversation with K2 Integrity Chairman and Co-Founder Jules Kroll that links past and present challenges in the corporate security and business intelligence industries and looks to the future on the global dangers of cyber threats. Touching on topics such as the national security imperatives of asset recovery and weaponization of misleading and inaccurate information, Jules Kroll brings his 50 years of experience to bear in this prescient interview.

In this episode, K2 Integrity’s Juan Zarate is joined by his colleagues Danny Glaser and Chip Poncy to discuss fraud and cybercrime challenges related to COVID-19, expectations for sanctions policy, and the Anti-Money Laundering Reform Act of 2020.

In this episode, K2 Integrity's Juan Zarate moderates a lively discussion on the possibilities and excitement around the novel application of federated machine learning to combat illicit finance and redesign the AML/CFT system. The vision and technology come alive for the audience with guests Gary Shiffman, of Consilient, and Nikhil Deshpande and Parviz Peiravi, of Intel.

In this episode, Juan Zarate, FIN Chairman and Co-Founder, speaks with K2-FIN Vice President Mariano Federici, a leading global expert in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT), about financial intelligence and the global anti-money laundering system.

In this episode, Juan Zarate, FIN Chairman and Co-Founder, speaks with former Olympian Apolo Ohno about his interest in the rapid evolution of digital currencies and his own transformation from world-class athlete to entrepreneur, author and educator on unlocking the ‘gold-medal’ mindset to overcome challenges.

In this episode, Juan Zarate, FIN Chairman and Co-Founder, Senior Vice President Him Das, and K2 Intelligence Executive Vice President of the Americas, David Holley discuss investment, security, risk, and integrity in the COVID era.

In this episode, Juan Zarate, FIN Chairman and Co-Founder, Vice President Gail Fuller, and Vice President Eric Lorber discuss COVID-19 and the counter illicit finance regime, risks, policy tensions, and opportunities.

In this episode, Juan Zarate, Chairman and Co-Founder, and Chip Poncy, President and Co-Founder, are joined by the Sentry's John Prendergast and J.R. Mailey to discuss Kleptocracy, Financial Crime, and Instability.

In this episode, FIN Chairman & Co-Founder, Juan Zarate, is joined by FIN Senior Vice President, Danny McGlynn to discuss his background and what's in store for the Dedicated Online Financial Integrity Network (DOLFIN) platform.

In this episode, Juan Zarate, FIN Chairman and Co-Founder, is joined by FIN Vice Presidents Gail Fuller, Eric Lorber, and Thomas Iverson to discuss financial integrity trends to watch and monitor in 2020.

In this episode, FIN Principal Daniel L. Glaser and FIN Vice President David Murray focus on the North Korea Sanctions program. These experts discuss the program, its complexities, its challenges, and its importance in the geopolitical context.

On September 26, 2019, FIN Co-hosted the Innovation in Countering Illicit Finance Conference: Exploring and Tackling Policy Tensions with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). On this podcast, RUSI highlights the events of the conference. Juan Zarate, FIN Chairman and Co-Founder, was interviewed by Isabella Chase on the RUSI podcast where they discussed the purpose of the conference and some of the conclusions coming out of it.

In this episode FIN Principal, Daniel Glaser, and FIN Vice President, David Murray discuss the Russia sanctions program and the growing complexities and challenges as they relate to politics and an ever-changing geoeconomic environment.

In this episode of FINCast, FIN President, Chip Poncy and FIN Vice President for Product Development and Services, David Murray discuss the immediate and long term implications of the Iran sanctions.

In this episode, FIN Chairman Juan Zarate is joined by FIN Vice President David Murray, and FIN Directors Gail Fuller and Eric Lorber to highlight the top illicit financing issues of 2019.

FIN Chairman Juan Zarate is joined by FIN Principal Daniel Glaser and Jennifer Fowler, Director at the Brunswick Group and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes to discuss the implications of the reimpositions of U.S. sanctions on Iran, the U.S. withdrawal from the US-Iran nuclear agreement, and what happens next with US-Iran relations.

FIN Chairman Juan Zarate is joined by FIN Vice President David Murray and Foundation for Defense of Democracies CSIF Director of Analysis Yaya Fanusie to discuss virtual currencies like Bitcoin, their adoptions, risks, and what may be to come for their future use.

FIN Chairman Juan Zarate is joined by FIN Vice President David Murray to discuss the latest with the Russia sanctions regime, to include the reshaped landscape in the wake of recent designations by the United States.

In a co-hosted podcast with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, FIN Chairman Juan Zarate moderates a discussion on the state of the sanctions regime on Venezuela. Juan is joined by the Associate Director for the CSIS Americas Program Moises Rendon, FIN Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean José Luis Stein, and FIN Vice President for Product Development and Services David Murray.

FIN Chairman Juan Zarate is joined by FIN Senior Adviser Elaine Dezenski to discuss the latest in anti-corruption, bribery, and transparency, with a special focus on the recent Paradise Papers leaks.

FIN Chairman Juan Zarate and FIN Principal Danny Glaser discuss the ongoing global campaign against terrorist financing, including its multifaceted post-9/11 history, the financial tools it has deployed against Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State, and other terrorist organizations, and why it will remain critically important to the international financial system in the future.

In this episode, FIN Chairman Juan Zarate hosts a discussion with FIN Senior Adviser Zachary Goldman on the current state of cyber sanctions, cybercrime, and the convergence of cyber security and the anti-money laundering system.

In this episode, FIN Chairman Juan Zarate hosts a discussion with FIN Principal Danny Glaser and Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean José Luis Stein on U.S.-Mexico cooperation on anti-money laundering (AML). Their discussion covers why the U.S.-Mexico bilateral relationship is so important in the context of AML and financial integrity, what efforts have been done to date (to include what has been happening behind the curtain, and why the ties between the two countries have become as strong as they have), and what lessons have been learned, including as the U.S. turns its attention to Central and Latin America writ large.

FIN Co-Founder Juan Zarate hosts a discussion with fellow FIN Co-Founder Chip Poncy and FIN Senior Associate Eric Lorber on the recent Russia sanctions legislation passed by the United States Senate. Their discussion covers what the legislation means, the complications and implications for the bill, what's next as it makes its way through the United States House, and how Chip and Eric's testimonies before the United States Congress earlier this year helped lay the groundwork for this legislation.

In Episode #5, FIN Co-Founder Juan Zarate hosts a discussion with FIN Senior Associate Eric Lorber on the new report released by the Center on Sanctions and Illicit Finance, titled “Securing American Interests: A New Era of Economic Power”. Read the report: http://www.defenddemocracy.org/content/uploads/documents/CSIF_Securing_American_Interests.pdf

FIN Co-Founders Juan Zarate and Chip Poncy host a discussion with new FIN Principal Danny Glaser, who served until January 2017 as the U.S. Treasury Department's Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes. The discussion covers Danny's thoughts and reflections on his two-decade career at the U.S. Treasury, which included several of the most important policy, technical, and national security issues faced by the U.S. government.

FIN Co-Founders Juan Zarate and Chip Poncy discuss an article they authored on designing a new AML system, to include why they wrote the article, the challenges they see in imagining a new AML system, and how this new system can be implemented. The article, Designing A New AML System, was released in the 2016 Q3 issue of Banking Perspectives, and can be found at this link: http://bit.ly/2mghVmq.

FIN Co-Founders Juan Zarate and Chip Poncy discuss the strategic implications of the new rule on customer due diligence, issued by the U.S. in 2016.

FIN Co-Founders Juan Zarate and Chip Poncy discuss the history, evolution, and future of the global anti-money laundering / countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) system, in the first-ever FINCast episode.