The Laundry

Live from the Ministry of Sound in London! What if we could combine all the knowledge from our industry into one powerful source? Connecting all that expertise, years of career experience, all those war stories, and secret knowledge together. We used AI to compress 60 hours of podcasting, 80 experts, and 360,000 words of conversation into one AML Megamind AI. Then we put it to the test agains...

After fourteen years of the Conservative party, July’s general election saw a huge swing to Labour – who pledged to provide a different kind of politics. New UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, recently reached the milestone of 100 days in charge – which means it’s time to look at what has been achieved so far. Our expert host, Robin Lycka,  is joined by Helena Wood, Director of Public Poli...

The Laundry Live is back in London! On Wednesday the 30th of October, we’re gathering AML Megaminds from across the industry for a night of networking and insights at the world renowned Ministry of Sound venue. We’ll be bringing you a killer keynote, a live podcast recording, a DJ set, light shows, refreshments and more! It’s going to be the biggest event for AML and Compliance professionals...

We made it to 100 episodes! That's 100 conversations exploring the issues that matter most to both us and you. In addition to reaching this milestone, we have just released the AML Megaminds Report – built from over 60 hours of The Laundry, analysed by AI, to create an ultimate source of knowledge in the industry. Marit Rødevand is joined in Greece by The Laundry co-hosts, Robin Lycka and Fredrik...

We live in one of the most complex and toughest times for sanctions regimes, ever! Global conflicts have led to big political decisions which impact regimes, banks, businesses, and ordinary people too. But, how easy is it for those facing sanctions to work out routes to keep the flow of money going? We’re back in the classroom with our unlikely Professor of Criminology, ChatGPT, to find out. ...

The ongoing invasion of Ukraine has been a catastrophic ordeal for the country and its citizens – as well as the financial consequences for all those impacted by the Western sanctions. But, this has also presented a huge opportunity for nations and white-collar professionals willing to grease the wheels and help Russia evade sanctions in return for cash money!  Our expert host, Robin Lyc...

Transaction screening is like extra second of bullet time you see movies – where the action hero moves in slow-motion as everything whizzes around them. It’s that split-second before a transaction goes through, which could be the difference between stopping criminals washing their funds through your payments platform, or not. Our expert host, Fredrik Riiser,   is joined by Nick Portalski...

Former Swedbank chief executive, Birgitte Bonnesen, is facing 15 months in prison after being convicted of spreading misleading information about the bank’s money laundering problems in Estonia. The conviction ties into one of Europe’s biggest money-laundering scandals where both Swedbank and Denmark’s Danske Bank were alleged to have allowed Russian oligarchs and criminals to move money through t...

Many were shocked when it was announced that Pavel Durov had been detained by authorities just outside Paris. The Russian-born CEO of the messaging app Telegram was placed under formal investigation for the suspected involvement in allowing illicit transactions, drug trafficking, money laundering, and fraud to flourish on his platform – amongst other charges. So if a messaging app used by 950...

ChatGPT recently surpassed a milestone of 200 million active users every week: equivalent to the ​​combined populations of Germany, France, and Spain all chatting to the same online tool But while many are using it for everything from social media posts to coding – could this virtual assistant unintentionally be training the next generation of financial criminals? Our expert host, Marit Rødev...

In the world of financial services, a banking license is like the Holy Grail – key to unlocking powerful capabilities like holding deposits, lending, managing mortgage books, and more. But, there are numerous trials and hurdles standing in the way of obtaining it. And once you do, what about the criminals ready to exploit your shiny new licence? Our expert host, Marit Rødevand  is joined...

The Laundry returns for a brand new series of podcasts connecting AML, Compliance, and Financial Crime to the real world. And, much like the dark money itself, this season: we'll be going global! Join us for a brand new season starting from September 5th - with expert hosts Marit Rødevand , Fredrik Riiser , and Robin Lycka . Producer: Matthew Dunne-Miles Engineer: Dominic Delargy _________________...

To mark the summer season, we're bringing you some of our favourite episodes from The Laundry archives! In this episode, originally published in May 2023, Marit Rødevand is joined by Strise CTO, Patrick Skjennum . Generative AI is revolutionising the financial industry, from customer service to investment. CTO Patrick provides real-life examples of how companies are using Generative AI in the fina...

To mark the summer season, we're bringing you some of our favourite episodes from The Laundry archives! In this episode, originally published in February 2023, Marit Rødevand is joined by award-winning author and investigative journalist Oliver Bullough . London has become a safe haven for the world's wealthiest people to hide their stolen money and spend it with no questions asked.  Through...

To mark the summer season, we're bringing you some of our favourite episodes from The Laundry archives. In this episode, originally published in January 2023, Marit Rødevand is joined by Silke Øverby , Chief Risk and Compliance Officer at Vipps MobilePay. Leading risk and compliance at one of Europe's largest fintech companies, Silke knows that compliance is more than just a cost centre. The pair...

To mark the summer season, we're bringing you some of our favourite episodes from The Laundry archives. In this episode, originally published in November 2022, Marit Rødevand is joined by Viveka Strangert , former Chief Compliance Officer at Swedbank, to discuss: how a naive compliance culture opened the doors for money-laundering In 2020, Viveka was known as the "whistleblower" in a massive money...

This season of The Laundry has shown that financial crime touches every aspect of society and life. We’ve been joined by Chief Compliance Officers, MLROs, Heads of AML, data scientists, consultants, journalists, government officials, presidents, and football club directors - sharing stories of combating dirty money, terror financing, fraud, and corruption. In this episode, our expert hosts, Marit...

A new player has entered the game in the fight against financial crime. The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Authority (AMLA) is the new entity aiming to transform AML and CFT supervision in the EU. AMLA is gearing up to take on the 70% of criminal networks in the EU that use money laundering to fund their activities and conceal their assets. Will this be the knock-o...

The Financial Action Task Force is hugely influential in combatting money laundering and terror financing.  Their 'black' and 'gray' lists are powerful tools in shutting out bad actors from the world economy but also incentivising countries to fight corruption and dark money in their own systems.  But what does it feel like to be at the top of an organisation impacting financial regulati...

Running the entire compliance operations of a financial institution is no walk in the park.  Managing a team working to keep customers safe, managing expectations of CEOs and founders, keeping across regulation and sanctions – while trying to stay ahead of criminals looking to funnel dirty money through your service. Our expert host, Marit Rødevand , is joined by Mitch Trehan , Chief Complian...

Synthetic data comes with all sorts of hype: the next great accelerator to combat financial crime, the silver bullet of compliance – even an emerging hero! But while this use of AI is promising, there is still plenty to be worked out and you better believe that the bad guys are utilising it too! Our expert host, Fredrik Riiser, is joined by Dr. Janet Bastiman , Chief Data Scientist at Napier...

The most dramatic criminal actions can often be hidden behind the dullest of language. 'VAT Refunds’ is unlikely to have your pulse racing – but hidden within this is a financial loophole taking money from the European Union and putting directly into the hands of drug traffickers, terrorists, and criminal gangs.  Our expert host, Marit Rødevand,  is joined by Jerker Asplund, Deputy...

Technology has drastically changed nearly every aspect our lives – but has it all been for the better? In this episode, we are spelling out the complex relationship between money laundering and organised crime – and how technology is the ‘rocket booster’ underneath it all. Our expert host, Marit Rødevand  is joined by investigative journalist and author, Geoff White, to discuss his...

Live on stage at VENUE81 in Stockholm, Sweden! AI is powerful tool in combatting financial crime and its impact can no longer be ignored. But where do we draw the line between a human professional with vast industry knowledge, and an AI fed the exact same information? What nuances can a human detect that a language learning model might miss? Can AI truly interpret and deduce? In the latest episode...

What could link oligarchs and FATF grey-list countries to the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund? The Government Pension Fund of Norway, known more commonly as the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund, was established as a way to invest the country’s surplus revenues from its oil and gas sector.  To date, the fund has reportedly put money into more than 8,500 companies in 65 countries around th...