STR: Suspicious Transaction Report

As multilateral organisations battle strong geopolitical headwinds, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – the global financial crime watchdog – is not immune to such pressures. Indeed, it faces a range of challenges that are increasingly raising questions about its continued legitimacy. In this episode, host Tom Keatinge explores what these challenges are and how the FATF might stay ahead of th...

Tom Keatinge and Alanna Putze, two of your CFCS podcast hosts, introduce a new concept for the Suspicious Transaction Report podcast, offering listeners fresh content on the intersection between finance and security. Here is a glimpse of what's in store, including some of the guests, topics and ideas that will feature throughout the season.

Is there a resurgence of state threats or have democracies just opened up their eyes to this complex challenge? In a season that explores today's varied threat landscape, this final episode delves deeper into the dynamics between economics and security. Host Tom Keatinge is joined by RUSI Trustee Suzanne Raine and Associate Fellow Jason Shepherd to discuss the blurring of geopolitics and finance t...

How do adversarial states exploit cyber to pursue their own strategic objectives? From intelligence gathering and information operations to physical disruption and financial gain, cyber operations are increasingly shaping the global threat landscape. And it's not just large state actors such as Russia and China that are behind them, but also dozens of emerging states, along with contractors and pr...

Disinformation is not new, but it has certainly evolved. Today, it is strongly linked to international security, as malign actors seize on it to pursue their own strategic interests. Are democracies equipped to navigate this new landscape of political warfare? Host Alanna Putze is joined by Monika Richter of the American Foreign Policy Council and Graham Brookie of the Atlantic Council's Digital F...

Hybrid warfare is on the rise. From cyber and disruptive technologies to energy security and economic interconnectedness, malign actors have an array of domains to exploit. How has NATO adapted, and can it be nimble enough to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving threat landscape? Host Tom Keatinge is joined by James Appathurai, NATO's Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges...

How are organised crime and illicit finance exploited as vectors of state-based threats? This episode focuses on Russia and the unique capabilities it gains via illicit proceeds, including the power to subsidise occupation. Host Stephen Reimer is joined by Tena Prelec of the University of Oxford and Rowan Newman of the UK government's Serious and Organised Crime Network as they explore the blurred...

Interference and influence – whether in politics, national institutions or boardrooms – has long been an objective of adversaries of democracy, who frequently deploy money in pursuit of their goals. This episode spotlights Latvia, a country that is no stranger to corrupt external influences. CFCS's Tom Keatinge is joined by journalists Sanita Jemberga and Edward Lucas to explore what went wrong in...

What role do non-state proxy groups play in the current global security framework? This episode focuses on the Wagner Group, which has the potential to aid Russian state interests on multiple fronts, and not just on the battlefield. Host Stephen Reimer dives into the murky world of the Wagner Group, state threats and finance with guests Justyna Gudzowska, director of illicit finance policy at inve...

Are the UK and its allies sufficiently equipped to tackle today's threats from hostile state actors? And how might placing those threats under a financial lens help to shape responses? Host Tom Keatinge is joined by RUSI Associate Fellow and Senior Specialist at the House of Commons Ashlee Godwin, and Jonathan Evans, former Director General of MI5. They set the scene for this season's theme of 'fi...

Originally published 27 January 2023. Transparency will be key to managing Ukraine's reconstruction, both in 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 leading Ukrainian think tank – to discuss why Ukraine must establish a strong anti-money l...

Originally published on 2 December 2022. 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...

Originally published 21 October 2022. 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...

Originally published 7 October 2022. 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 Respon...

Originally published 26 August 2022. 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? 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...

Originally published 29 July 2022. 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...

Originally published 1 July 2022. 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 pro...

Originally published 17 June 2022. 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. Oliver 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 glo...

The final episode explores a major global challenge that initially lacked a cohesive policy response and now poses an urgent threat. CFCS's Alanna Putze is joined by the Atlantic Council's Julia Friedlander and journalist Edward Lucas to explore the active financial measures that malign actors use to corrode trust in democracy. With Russia as the prime example, they ask if the world possess the po...

The UN first placed North Korea under international sanctions 15 years ago. Yet despite continued provocations and clear evidence of violations, there have been no substantive changes to the sanctions regime for the past five years. Is it time to rethink our sanctions approach to North Korea? CFCS's Sasha Erskine and Aaron Arnold are joined by former UK Ambassador to South Korea Alastair Morgan to...

What happens when firms get financial crime compliance wrong? Ten years ago, the compliance world was rocked when  the US authorities handed HSBC a $1.9 billion fine for "unacceptable failures" in its anti-money laundering procedures. These fines set a lot of activity into motion. But to what effect? Roger McCormick of Bayes Business School joins CFCS's Isabella Chase to dive into the punishment p...

Countering the financing of weapons of mass destruction is an important component of global non-proliferation efforts. While the focus has largely been on North Korea, as well as Iran, countering proliferation financing (CPF) is likely to apply to other actors in the future. Are the measures put in place sufficiently future-proofed? CFCS's Wojciech Pawlus is joined by Jonathan Brewer of King's Col...

It's hard to keep up with the pace of change in environmental, social and governance (ESG) policy. With a number of game-changing developments in the past year alone, there's no doubt that ESG is at the forefront of the agenda, for both corporates and the financial sector. RUSI's Alexandria Reid dives into this rapidly evolving world with James Ford of Mayer Brown. Together, they discuss lessons f...

Fraud is an age-old crime; one that has drastically evolved in recent years. Far from the small-scale individual acts or larger corporate offences of the past, organised volume fraud has now reached epidemic levels, posing a growing threat to the UK's national security and financial stability. CFCS's Kathryn Westmore is joined by Jonathan Holmes of PwC's Digital and Forensic Services Investigation...

An unscheduled episode, recorded as the tragic events in Ukraine unfold. It considers the central plank of the West's response to Russia's aggression – sanctions. Tom Keatinge is joined by RUSI Associate Fellows and legal experts Anna Bradshaw of Peters & Peters and Nick Turner of Steptoe & Johnson. They discuss the wider challenges related to sanctions and their use, what these mean in the contex...