The Laundry

In this episode, we're diving into the murky world of shipping and its challenges for banks. With little oversight and a global reach, the maritime industry presents complex problems for banks navigating regulatory compliance.Our expert guests, Tom Cardamone and Michael Byrne, CEOs of Global Financial Integrity and the Institute of International Banking Law & Practice, respectively, take us through the increasing pressures on banks to combat sanctions and combat financial crime compliance evasion. We explore the staggering statistic that 12.2% of active ships and vessels have unknown owners - and with 80% of all goods being imported by sea, the need for greater transparency in vessel ownership is more important than ever! Read the full report here.But the shipping industry's complexity has caused anxiety among banks, who are struggling to keep up with the expertise and tools needed to navigate these challenges. Tom and Michael provide unique insights into the risks and solutions to help banks stay compliant and understand the importance of monitoring suspicious vessel behavior.So grab a seat and get ready to uncover the secrets of the shipping industry and why it's causing such anxiety among banks. From this exciting episode, you'll learn: The staggering statistic is that 12.2% of ships have unknown owners, and how this impacts overall compliance and regulatory challenges.Key policy recommendations from the report include vessel ownership as a risk assessment tool and establishing a beneficial ownership registry for vessels.The importance of a nuanced understanding of the maritime shipping industry and specific recommendations for banks and insurance companies.The challenges that small or medium-sized banks face in navigating the shipping industry and ways to increase their understanding.Future developments in shipping industry compliance trends and how financial institutions can prepare for them.The role of vessel group ownership information in assessing compliance risk and how government regulators and port security officials can require transparency.The need for banks and insurance companies to better identify commodities and trade corridors where transhipment and ship-to-ship transfers may occur.The consequences of failing to comply with recommendations and guidelines issued by OFAC and OFSI.Tune in and enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to a special episode where we're thrilled to announce a very famous guest, ChatGPT!In this thought-provoking discussion, we delve into the complex and intriguing roles played by Artificial Intelligence (AI) as both an adversary to money launderers and an ally in the fight against financial crime. All responses come directly from the AI itself, providing unique insights into its nuanced roles within this critical domain.Join our host, Fredrik Riiser, and ChatGPT as they tackle the challenges of the AI "black-box" phenomenon and explore how AI can be a double-edged sword in the wrong hands. Together, they unravel the importance of transparency and the critical and pivotal role of human-AI collaboration in combatting financial crime for banks.We're confident this episode will captivate your attention and shed light on the ever-evolving intersection of AI and financial crime.Tune in to this week's episode of The Laundry and enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get ready to uncover the secrets of one of the world's most notorious hacking groups - The Lazarus Group.In this episode, we chat with investigative journalist Geoff White and explore the inner workings of this elite North Korean group.Join us as we delve into their past and present operations, including their staggering theft of billions of dollars through cyberattacks, targeting everything from cryptocurrency businesses to major corporations like Sony Pictures Entertainment.Geoff will reveal how North Korea gains from conducting these illegal activities, evading sanctions, and the group's evolving tactics over the years. We'll also explore the evidence of their involvement in cryptocurrency and similar groups and countries engaging in these activities.Take advantage of the exclusive sneak peek into season two of The Lazarus Heist, where we will continue investigating the group's new methods and North Korea's denial of involvement.Tune in for a thrilling and informative conversation with Geoff White, and discover the surprising truth about the Lazarus Group. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us as we sit down with Jørgen Holmlund, who brings over 25 years of experience in intelligence, to discuss sanctions and intelligence work. This episode is brought to you in partnership with Penningtvättsdagarna – Sweden's largest event for AML/CFT professionals, taking place on May 3-4 in Stockholm. In this episode, we explore the ever-changing world of sanctions and look at Russia's recent steps to circumvent EU and US sanctions. We also delve into the current status of intelligence work, the most worrying trends Jørgen and the intelligence community see, and how to utilise technology to stay ahead of criminals.Finally, we'll explore what recommendations Jørgen has for privately owned companies, banks and regulated companies.Tune in now to hear this important conversation.From this episode, you'll learn:00:00 - 04:56 What is the main motive behind imposing sanctions, and what has been the effect?04:56 - 07:57 What steps has Russia taken since 2014 to circumvent EU and US sanctions? 07:57 - 11:36 Where have sanctions worked as intended, and why were they successful?11:36 - 17:55 What are the current trends in intelligence work?17:55 - 25:17 How do we utilise technology to help?25:17 - 31:00 What are the most worrying trends the intelligence community sees?31:00 - 38:52 How do we stay ahead of the next move of the criminals? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we'll take a closer look at the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), one of the biggest US bank runs in over a decade.We'll examine how the bank's risk management may have been the leading cause of its downfall and get an exclusive perspective from Marcus Mølleskov, Chief Risk & Compliance Officer at Januar and Simon Taylor, Head of Strategy at Sardine.ai. Tune in as we untangle the complexities of this case and find out what lessons can be learned.From this episode, you'll learn.00:00 - 08:01: What happened?08:01 - 11:30: Why the SVB collapse is an outlier.11:30 - 15:33: SVB had no official Chief Risk Officer for eight months. How has this potentially affected this?15:33 - 26:13: How will other banks address risk management in the wake of the SVB collapse?26:13 - 28:39: How will it affect the importance of KYC and customer due diligence for other financial institutions?28:39 - 31:46: What can we expect of new government regulations after this? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week we hosted, The Laundry Live - a live-streamed community event featuring subject-matter experts such as; Louise Brown, Graham Barrow, Gregory Dellas, and Christian Hunt.Our speaker, Louise Brown, Director of Financial Crime Prevention at FCG, shared her insights on the AML trends in 2023 and beyond. Listen to this episode to hear her thoughts and get ahead of the curve.We recommend you watch the entire YouTube event here.Enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us as we uncover the truth behind Britain's 'kleptocracy capital'.Award-winning and investigative journalist Oliver Bullough joins this week's The Laundry episode to discuss how London has become a safe haven for the world's wealthiest people to hide their stolen money and spend it with no questions asked. Bullough explains how the problem originated and how the lack of regulation in the UK has enabled oligarchs, criminals and kleptocrats to use London's banks to launder their wealth. Don't miss this exciting episode about how London became the money laundering capital of the world.From this episode, you'll learn:00:00 - 09:11 What inspired Oliver to write the book, "Butler to the World"09:11 - 15:32 How Britain became a world-class enabler of financial crime15:32 - 21:32 Oliver takes you through the "Kleprocrat tour"21:32 - 23:28 How Britain has turned Gibraltar into the "world's biggest online casino"23:28 - 26:31 The register of overseas owners of UK properties26:31 - 37:44 Why the current AML regulations don't work37:44 - 42:06 The recent EU ruling on UBO registers is a complete disaster42:06 - 45:06 The politicians are failing to address money laundering adequately45:06 - 48:00 How do we clean up this mess? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, we're deep-diving into FCG's "AML State of Play report", a comprehensive study of the AML practices of ten of Denmark's largest financial institutions. The report is based on anonymous interviews with senior executives from the ten banks.Together with Kenneth Ullmann Eenholt, director at FCG Denmark, we explore the key findings from the report and the progress made since the money laundering scandals of recent years. Kenneth also shares his expert insight into the enormous investments in AML programs and why they're not yet paying off.From this episode, you'll learn:00:00 - 07:16: Take on the significance of money laundering on a global and Nordic level07:16 - 09:48: Why the enormous AML investments aren't paying off09:48 - 20:24: Advice to top management and operational teams20:24 - 26:26: Recommendations for implementation of technologies26:26 - 33:55: Uncertainty about roles and responsibilities within the organisation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2022, the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority in the UK) raised the possibility that criminals may take advantage of the speedy onboarding process of challenger banks (neobanks), mainly to create money mule networks.Their report also noted that challenger banks advertise the ability to open accounts quickly, which may lead to insufficient information being gathered on higher-risk customers during the account opening process.Consequently, the FCA reviewed the financial crime controls of a sample of challenger banks that compete with traditional retail banks.In this episode, we will, together with one of the leading experts in the field, James Nurse from Fintrail, a specialist consultant firm in the financial crime space, explore the risks associated with challenger banks and how traditional retail banks are faring in comparison.We'll also look at the financial crime controls amongst the challenger banks to better understand the situation.From this episode, you'll learn:01:39 - 02:42: What led to the need for a review of challenger banks' financial crime practices?02:42 - 05:25: Critical weaknesses identified by FCA05:25 - 06:58: How challenger banks can adapt customer risk assessment & EDD for the heightened risk of sanctions evasion06:58 - 08:55: How challenger banks & traditional banks differ in legislation they must comply with08:55 - 09:57: What guidance is available to challenger banks to help meet AML/CTF obligations09:57 - 11:24: What technologies are available to help11:24 - 12:43: James' top tips12:43 - 14:12: Why a compelling financial crime change program is crucial14:12 - 15:27: What challenger banks should expect from the FCA in terms of monitoring their compliance with the AML regulations in 202315:27 - 16:49: What risk controls are the challenger banks usually good at—and maybe even better at compared to the traditional banks?16:49 - 19:44: How you can balance the need for robust KYC with a seamless customer experience19:44 - 21:15: How the KYC process for challenger banks differ from traditional banks21:15 - 24:22: Why "Effectiveness" continue to be a big 2023 compliance trend Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guess where the business name 'Adolf Tooth-Fairy Hitler' is registered?Registering a business at Companies House, the official business registry in the UK is an easy, quick, and affordable process. However, strange business owner names like 'Adolf Tooth-Fairy Hitler' appear in the organisation's database, suggesting that limited checks are being conducted and reveal a system vulnerable to criminal manipulation.In this episode, we will be exploring the vulnerability of the UK's company registration system to criminal manipulation.We have Graham Barrow, co-host of "The Dark Money Files" podcast and a long-standing expert in the anti-money laundering world. He will help us look into the groups of criminals behind this issue, the countries affected, and the measures being taken to address the vulnerabilities of the Companies House system. We will also discuss digital reforms to the Companies House, the EU's new UBO ruling, and the craziest company names registered with Companies House.From this episode, you'll learn:02:22 - What kind of criminal manipulation is Companies House vulnerable to?03:19 - How are UK-registered companies been misused in money-laundering scandals?04:50 - What groups of criminals are behind this?06:13 - Why should Nordic AML and compliance officers care about what's going on in CH?08:29 - Are there any examples of this affecting Nordic banks?12:38 - What are the worst examples Graham has seen?17:23 - Do UK banks know this and accept a Companies House registration as good validation?18:54 - What measures are being taken to address the vulnerabilities of the Companies House system?20:48 - What are some of the most misused addresses/streets in the UK on Company House?24:29 - What is Risk Alert 247?28:10 - What are some of the compliance trends for 2023 from a UK perspective?Tune in to find out more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.