Financial Crime Matters

Kieran talks with Bryan Smith, chief of the FBI’s Cybercriminal Section and a 20-year bureau veteran, about the growing threat of cybercrime to both individuals and large corporations. Bryan discusses the destruction caused by cyber hacking, identity theft and old fashion fraud and he shares some of the successes the FBI has had in recovering stolen funds – whether in fiat currencies or crypto. While concerned about future cybercrime threats from criminals who are always innovating, Bryan also argues that there is much that can be done to prevent cybercrime and catch its perpetrators when law enforcement and the private sector work closely together. *This Financial Crime Matters podcast is sponsored by Verafin. For nearly 20 years, Verafin has helped institutions like yours fight financial crime and keep pace with changing regulations. For more information on how Verafin can help your institution, visit https://verafin.com today.

Kieran talks with Nathan Lynch, author of 'The Lucky Laundry' - an expose of how Australia became the conduit for billons of dollars in laundered funds from the proceeds of drug trafficking, corruption, the sexual exploitation of children and other heinous crimes committed by transnational criminal organizations. Nathan, Manager of Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence, Asia-Pacific, details how the 'Lucky Country' (as Australians view their homeland) became the 'Lucky Laundry' undermining confidence in the nation’s largest financial institutions and government, and creating a still unmet outcry for stricter anti-money laundering measures from parliament.

Kieran talks with ACAMS colleague Joby Carpenter about the current tumult in the digital asset world, including plummeting cryptocurrency prices, digital value’s exploitation by money launderers, the threat from cyberhackers, and the rise in crypto-related fraud schemes. A global subject matter expert on cryptocurrency, Joby draws on 18 years of experience in strategic and risk analysis roles across the UK government, intelligence and regulatory community and concludes that there is a saner, albeit more regulated, future ahead for digital assets.

Kieran talks with Daniel Thelesklaf, Project Director for Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking (FAST) at the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research about the effort to protect refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from human trafficking. While many governments, organizations and individuals are offering support for refugees that includes information, food, shelter and job placements, “there are traffickers waiting at the borders” with job and other offers that Daniel says are, of course, too good to be true. Financial institutions have a vital role and a responsibility, he adds, in helping those dispossessed by the war obtain banking services if they are to be less susceptible to traffickers and successfully fit into communities where they are resettled.

Kieran talks with Ilze Znotina about the challenges Latvia has faced over the past four years she has been head of the Financial Intelligence Unit, including enforcing sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. “Baltic states have suffered… a very similar situation that Ukraine is suffering right now, [but] thankfully not in recent years,” Ilze says, adding that the region is for that reason united in trying to make the sanctions work. “[Ukraine] fights for themselves and all of us in the Baltic states,” she says. Ilze, who became head of the FIU in the wake of the collapse of the country’s second largest bank and under the looming threat the Financial Action Task Force would place the country on its so-called “grey list,” also details how Latvia has moved from those darker days to put in place vigorous anti-financial crime controls.

Kieran talks with Jessica Davis, a veteran of more than 20 years in defense and intelligence roles in government and the private sector in Canada. They discuss the occupation of Canada’s capitol for three weeks last winter by the so-called “Freedom Convoy,” efforts to support the group via crowdfunding, cryptocurrency, and cash as well as the Canadian government’s successful seizure or freezing of much of that funding. Jessica, president of Insight Threat Intelligence and author of “Illicit Money: Financing Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century,” tells Kieran that the unprecedented use of Canada’s “Emergencies Act” to clear the Convoy encampment and seize its funding should kickoff a nationwide debate about financial support for extremist groups. “While there may not have been mass shootings or big riots, there were some very significant impacts that for Canada, and for Ottawa in particular, are really outside the realm of what we consider to be acceptable protests,” Jessica says, reflecting on the thousands of unemployed and million in damage resulting from the occupation.

Kieran talks with John Sifton, advocacy director, and Patti Gossman, associate Asia director, at Human Rights Watch about the dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan following the return of the Taliban to power. “One in three families is facing food insecurity” from malnourishment to starvation, says Patti, adding that the crisis is affecting not only the already impoverished, but middle-class and working-class people who are no longer paid for their jobs and have no access to their savings. “Sanctions on Afghanistan are an important part of the economic crisis, but they are not the root cause” as actions by the U.S. Treasury have improved the flow of funds to private banks, John says. “But that’s not solving any of the larger macroeconomic problems and liquidity problems,” John argues, in calling for an end to the isolation of the Afghan central bank from the international banking system.

Kieran talks with Olivia Swaak-Goldman, executive director of the Wildlife Justice Commission, about the Hague-based organization’s efforts to stop the illegal wildlife trade and other forms of environmental exploitation, currently the fourth largest source of funds for transnational criminal organizations. Olivia discusses how WJC targets traffickers in endangered species and those having the greatest negative environmental impact with its team of former law enforcement investigators, intelligence officials and prosecutors. Olivia highlights WJC’s recent success in prosecuting ivory and Pangolin smugglers with help from Nigeria and China as well as the ongoing struggle to take down transnational criminals throughout the world who rely on the aid of corrupt officials and are often also engaged in human and drug trafficking. “Wildlife crimes wouldn’t be there without corruption, without fraud, without money laundering,” Olivia says, adding, “Addressing corruption is absolutely essential to tackling wildlife crime.” ACAMS and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)collaborated with the WJC to develop a free training certificate on investigative strategies to aid law enforcement in the use of financial intelligence and other data related to the illegal wildlife trade. LEARN MORE: https://www.acams.org/en/training/certificates/ending-illegal-wildlife-trade-a-practical-guide-for-law-enforcement

Kieran talks with colleague Dr. Justine Walker, Global Head - Sanctions, Compliance and Risk at ACAMS, about the likely shape of sanctions against Russia should it invade Ukraine. In the wake of ACAM’s Second Annual Sanctions Summit, Justine discusses keynote speaker and White House special advisor Peter Harrell’s promise of severe sanctions against Russia should it attack Ukraine and analyzes the Summit buzz about how the United States, United Kingdom and European Union as well as the financial industry are preparing for possible sanctions. “In thinking of good practice… you do need to map your Russia exposure,” Justine says, adding that financial institutions and companies must ask, “Do you have investments in Russia? Do you have people in Russia? What type of securities exposure do you have? Are you exporting to Russia?” In the event of sanctions, she says, corporations should ask “What may you need to withdraw from and are you able to withdraw from that?”

Kieran talks with Anjana Rajan, chief technology officer for Polaris, about the work the not-for-profit does to fight human trafficking, including having helped more than 30,000 trafficking survivors via its national hotline. In looking ahead, Anjana talks about the need to recreate the Internet to end its use by the powerful to exploit the vulnerable, a reality made only worse by the accelerated digitalization of life in the wake of COVID-19. Anjana says the current debate about Web 3, the next generation of the Internet, offers us all a chance to create a better virtual world or to further the Web’s capacity to be used for exploitation. “As a cryptographer, I largely believe in the potential of Web 3 to help restore economic justice to victims and survivors of human trafficking,” Anjana says, “but as a human trafficking expert, I think Web 3 only offers that possibility, not the guarantee.”