Financial Crime Matters

Kieran talks with Guy Ficco, the Chief of IRS Criminal Investigation. They discuss the IRS-CI’s recent success in tracking illicit cryptocurrency transactions. and the threat from money mules. Guy also identifies some of the latest typologies his agency is seeing, while crediting suspicious activity reports from financial institutions as catalysts for investigations, arrests and successful prosecutions.

Former FBI Counterterrorism Chief Eliza Odom discusses top terror threats and the role of financial targeting in intercepting terror funding. Topics include home-grown extremists, global cooperation, cross-border terror attacks, and the significance of financial intelligence in counterterrorism efforts.

Hennie Verbeek-Kusters, a leader in financial crime prevention and head of the Netherlands Financial Intelligence Unit since 2008, shares her insights on the evolving tactics against sophisticated transnational crime. She discusses the urgent need to combat organized drug violence and the critical role of public-private partnerships in tracking illicit funds. Hennie delves into the transformation of financial intelligence units and the importance of collaboration with financial institutions in tracing and seizing drug money. This conversation is a revealing look into modern challenges and innovative strategies in combating financial crime.

Kieran talks with Molly Moeser, Acting Chief, Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section of the U.S. Justice Department, about MLARS’ efforts to seize illicit assets and, when possible, bring financial restitution to victims of crime. During their talk, Molly discusses the seizure of illicit funds associated with kleptocracy and other crimes, including crypto assets, which require “a whole of government approach” that enlists experts throughout law enforcement. Molly also touches on the importance of MLARS’ relationships with the private sector in identifying and seizing criminal proceeds, both as a source of intelligence and cooperative partner. ---------- This Financial Crime Matters episode is sponsored by: Moody's - www.moodys.com/KYC

Jennifer Shasky Calvery, Group Head of Financial Crime Risk at HSBC, talks about using AI to fight financial crime. She discusses the challenges faced by financial institutions and the government in detecting illicit funds. The partnership between HSBC and Google AML AI is highlighted, showcasing the potential of artificial intelligence in the industry.

The podcast explores the challenges of enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act, the impact of Chevron deference on regulatory authority, the evolution of beneficial ownership information under recent FinCEN rules, navigating risks in Bank-FinTech partnerships under new CTA regulations, and debating the impact of financial transparency measures.

Justine Walker and Craig Timm discuss top financial crime threats in 2024 like budget cuts, cyber-enabled crime, global conflict fallout. They highlight responses and ways for institutions to prepare. Insights on AI, malware, AML, sanctions, crypto, and more.

Kieran talks with Grant Rabenn, Director, Financial Crimes Legal at Coinbase. Grant, a former federal prosecutor who handled some of the Department of Justice’s earliest crypto cases, discusses the promise of blockchain offerings, while acknowledging the industry’s need to work with regulators to stem their use in financial crime and money laundering. During their conversation, Grant also touches some of the typologies for the illicit use of crypto currency that Coinbase encounters and the value of using a variety of blockchain forensics providers to trace crypto transactions.

Kieran talks with Zeke Faux, author of critically acclaimed “Number Go Up,” a comprehensive look at cryptocurrency, DeFi, and NFTs. Zeke, an investigative reporter for Bloomberg BusinessWeek and Bloomberg News, discusses the trek he undertook to understand the boom and sometimes bust of various blockchain offerings. It was a journey that included a New York harbor NFT “ApeFest,” time in the Philippines with erstwhile Axis Infinity gamers who lost everything, a visit to a hotel in Cambodia attached to a “pig butchering” operation, and finally a marathon interview with Sam Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas days before his arrest.

Kieran talks with Kenneth Rijock, a former Miami-based lawyer who spent a decade as a bag man for drug-traffickers, investing their cash in accounts in the Caribbean and other offshore secrecy havens. Ken describes some of the classic methods he used for laundering money and how law enforcement ultimately caught up with him. Following a prison term, Ken reinvented himself as an anti-money laundering advisor to law enforcement and subsequently the private sector. His story is also told in his book, “The Laundryman,” published in 2012.