STR: Suspicious Transaction Report

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...

Confiscating the proceeds of crime seems like an obvious way to deter illicit activity, yet asset recovery is all too often an afterthought in the global response to financial crime. Gretta Fenner of the Basel Institute on Governance joins CFCS's Maria Nizzero and Helena Wood to discuss why a smarter approach to asset recovery could be transformational in narrowing the global development gap and i...

More than a decade since Bitcoin's emergence, cryptocurrency continues to shake up the financial sector, keeping regulators on alert and intriguing the public. It simultaneously causes excitement about its possibilities, as well as concern about its illicit finance risks. But where are we exactly on crypto? Host Anton Moiseienko is joined by Ari Redbord of TRM Labs and CFCS's Allison Owen to take...

How can the current counterterrorism financing (CTF) regime remain relevant when the threat is constantly evolving? In the 20 years since 9/11, terrorists have adopted diverse financing methods, new terrorist actors have emerged, and autocrats have co-opted CTF standards for their own nefarious purposes. Host Stephen Reimer is joined by RUSI Associate Fellow Jessica Davis and Amit Sharma of FinClu...

Is the current global anti-financial crime regime on the right track? Just a few weeks after leaving his role as Executive Secretary of the FATF, David Lewis joins host Tom Keatinge in setting the scene for this season. They look at international financial crime policy through the prism of its history and ask if it is meeting its intended goals. How has policy taken shape over the last 30 years, h...

What stood out for the Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies team in 2021? Tune in to the annual festive podcast episode with Isabella Chase, Aaron Arnold, Stephen Reimer and Helena Wood to find out about the financial crime scandals and surprises of 2021 and hear the team's predictions for the year ahead.

Originally publised 22 October 2021. The US and UK have intensified their focus on tackling money laundering, kleptocracy and corruption. Now, words need to translate into action. RUSI set up a Taskforce on a Transatlantic Response to Illicit Finance (TARIF) to provide urgent input into the policy debate. CFCS's Tom Keatinge is joined by Taskforce members Moyara Ruehsen of the Middlebury Institute...