Integrity Insights

In this episode of Integrity Insights, Filip Brokes speaks with Emmanuelle Saliba, Chief Investigative Officer at Get Real, about deepfakes, synthetic identities and AI-driven identity fraud. They discuss how generative AI is changing misinformation, social media manipulation, voice cloning and remote identity verification, with a focus on what these risks mean for businesses, governments and indi...

In this episode of Integrity Insights, host Filip Brokes speaks with Thom Townsend, Executive Director of Open Ownership, about the evolving global landscape of beneficial ownership transparency. The conversation revisits one of the major turning points in the transparency agenda: the November 2022 Court of Justice of the European Union ruling, which restricted unrestricted public access to benefi...

In this episode of Integrity Insights, Filip Brokes is joined by Verena Horne (Director at Berlin Risk) and Davids Alksnis (Consultant at Berlin Risk) to discuss the fundamentals of background checks and due diligence investigations. The conversation provides a practical overview of how integrity due diligence works in real-world scenarios, why clients rely on external investigators, and how risks...

In this episode of Integrity Insights, Filip is joined by Skip Schiphorst of i-Intelligence, a specialist in multilingual open-source intelligence and online research. Skip manages the company’s language-focused OSINT courses, including Chinese, Russian, and Arabic. The conversation explores a frequently overlooked aspect of OSINT: how to research effectively in foreign languages even if you do no...

In this episode of Integrity Insights , we are joined by Nico Dekens, a recognized authority in the world of open-source intelligence (OSINT). With over 30 years of experience in the field, Nico shares his insights into the evolving OSINT landscape, the tools and techniques he uses, and the ethical considerations of this critical field. Nico spent over two decades with the Dutch police, working on...

AML CFT Roundup 2025: What changed, and what comes next In this episode of Integrity Insights, Filip is joined by Jennifer Hanley-Giersch to review the biggest AML/CFT developments of 2025. They discuss why the year marked a shift from incremental updates to structural change, driven by AMLA’s launch, preparation for the EU Single Rulebook, tougher sanctions expectations, and a renewed focus on te...

In this episode of Integrity Insights , host Filip Brokes is joined by Professor Niels Appermont , a professor of economic law at Hasselt University in Belgium, and an expert in sports law . Neils discusses his research into money laundering in football, with a particular focus on Belgium’s fight against corruption and the broader challenges of enforcing anti-money laundering (AML) regulations in...

In this episode of Integrity Insights , Filip is joined by Michael Hornsby and Elisabetta Marinoni , researchers working with Transparency International and the Anti-Corruption Data Collective (ACDC) , to discuss their new study: the Opacity in Real Estate Ownership (OREO) Index . The conversation explores how opaque real estate ownership structures enable corruption and money laundering, why data...

In this episode of Integrity Insights , Filip is joined by Daniel Shkedi , Head of Product Marketing and Strategy at Refine Intelligence , a fraud prevention company. He is also a fraud and threat intelligence researcher specializing in cybercriminal activity on the dark web and Telegram. His publications cover a wide range of topics, including online fraud prevention (in banking, eCommerce, and p...

In this episode of Integrity Insights , Filip is joined by Jan Indra , a threat intelligence specialist with a decade of experience in financial crime prevention. Jan began his career as an investigative journalist, later moved into consultancy and long-term due diligence projects, and now focuses on researching the ecosystem that enables fraud to flourish. The conversation dives deep into how fra...

In this episode of Integrity Insights , we speak with Casey Michel, investigative journalist and Head of the Kleptocracy Program at the Human Rights Foundation in New York City. Casey is the author of American Kleptocracy and Foreign Agents , two seminal books on the mechanisms of global illicit finance and foreign influence operations. Our discussion focuses on the United States’ recent retreat f...

In this episode, host Filip Brokes is joined by Pav Gill , former Head of Legal for the Asia Pacific region at Wirecard and current Founder & CEO of Confide Platform . Pav shares his extraordinary journey from a career at prominent international law firms to becoming a whistleblower who helped expose one of Europe’s biggest corporate scandals. Pav discusses his entry into Wirecard, explaining...

 In this episode, host Filip Brokes sits down with Carsten Giersch , Senior Partner at Berlin Risk Advisors and Managing Partner at ALL AML, for a wide-ranging discussion on how geopolitical events affect global financial markets. Recorded live at the FIBE conference in Berlin, this conversation dives into topics such as current trade tensions, the psychological dimensions of policy decisions, and...

In this episode of Integrity Insights, host Filip Brokes is joined by two seasoned experts to discuss information security, an increasingly crucial issue impacting businesses and institutions globally. Filip speaks with Annette Farrenkopf , Information Security Officer at Berlin Risk Advisors, and Christian Stehle , Founder and Managing Director of MindBytes, an IT security company based in German...

In this episode of Integrity Insights , our host Filip Brokes sits down with Daniel Eriksson, the former CEO of Transparency International, for an in-depth discussion on the global fight against corruption. Daniel shares his career journey, his transition from a technology and security background to leading one of the most recognized anti-corruption organizations in the world, and the core mission...

In this episode of Integrity Insights , our host Filip Brokes engages in a deep dive with Lana Schwartzman, Head of Regulatory and Compliance at Notabene, into the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency regulation. With over two decades in compliance, including 13 years specializing in crypto, Lana shares her expertise on the implications of the EU's Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR), the trav...

In this information-packed episode of Integrity Insights , host Filip Brokes welcomes managing partner of Berlin Risk and ALL AML Jennifer-Hanley Giersch for a comprehensive year-end review of the key developments in Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) regulations for 2024. They cover everything from enforcement actions and regulatory updates to sanctions, c...

In this episode, out host Filip Brokes interviews Aron Ouzilevski, a journalist with expertise in Russian studies and post-Soviet affairs. Aron shares insights from his two-year fellowship with the Institute of Current World Affairs, where he focused on Russian wartime immigration following the Ukraine invasion. Based primarily in Tbilisi, Georgia, Aron has reported on the dynamics behind Russian...

In this episode, Filip Brokes sits down with Hans Jacob Schindler, a renowned expert in the field of counter-terrorism and extremism. Hans provides an in-depth analysis of the growing threat of right-wing extremism, its financing mechanisms, and the international response to this rising danger. Drawing from his extensive career, including pivotal roles within the German government and the United N...

In this episode, I spoke to Nick Raudenski, a seasoned investigator whose career journey spans both law enforcement and sports. We sat down to discuss the EU's new AML regulation labelling professional football clubs as so-called "obliged entities" for AML/CTF purposes.  Nick and I delved into his transition from federal law enforcement to the brave new world of football. He shared...

In this episode, I spoke to Karen Nershi, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at IE University and a former Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University's Stanford Internet Observatory and the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC).  Karen's research examines questions of international cooperation and regulation within international political economy, including c...

In this episode, I spoke to Henrik Vold, a Norwegian journalist, instructor and a tech enthusiast. Henrik has had a long career in journalism during which he's simultaneously honed his technical skills. His current passion is helping journalists explore the world of artificial intelligence and incorporate it into their work.  He discusses the importance of journalists branching out into techn...

In today's episode of Integrity Insights I talk to Verena Horne, a senior consultant at Berlin Risk. We discuss the latest developments in the field of sanctions enforcement in the United States and the European Union. Verena explains why sanctions risk is top of the agenda for many internationally active companies, and talks about how this type of risk can be mitigated with the help of sanct...

In the second episode of Integrity Insights, I talk to Vlada Tkach, a managing partner at Berlin Risk. We discuss the topic of commercialisation of disinformation by private actors in the post-Soviet space. Apart from illuminating the socio-economic reasons behind the development of a private disinformation market in the post-Soviet territory, Vlada provides many useful tips on how to  distinguish...

In the very first episode of Integrity Insights, I talk to Jennifer Hanley-Giersch, a managing partner at Berlin Risk. We discuss the topic of corporate ownership transparency in the EU. In our roles as investigators, we rely on publicly available company information. In recent months, access to information about actual owners of companies, the so-called "ultimate beneficial owners", has...