The Laundry

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...

The beautiful game – a sport adored by billions across the world. Fans will buy their tickets on match days and pay for subscription packages to watch all the big games. Meanwhile, wealthy owners pour fortunes to elevate their clubs to the top of the football pyramid and turn them into a valuable global brand. But alongside all the money streaming in from passionate supporters, wealthy o...

This podcast is coming to you from the floor of Penningtvättsdagarna - Sweden’s biggest event focussed on professionals combating financial crime. So what better time to look at the challenges which have compliance professionals reaching for the stress ball? If you’re ever been wide awake in the night thinking about data breaches, new policy procedures, or audits - this episode is for you! In...

Whisper it quietly, but crypto might be back. The industry is feeling confident following a few tough years, with Bitcoin’s market value skyrocketing, bills passing through U.S Congress, gold credit cards, and sushi served on scantily clad models at industry parties... But, alongside this fresh industry confidence, there is the backdrop of FTX founder - Sam Bankman-Fried - being sentenced to 25 ye...

We're a financial crime podcast, and of course, we're jumping on a viral trend – but making it our own! The Laundry is back with 12 new episodes starting next week. Join our expert hosts, Marit Rødevand and Fredrik Riiser , as they embark on a journey to connect the world of compliance, AML, and financial crime to its real world consequences. Rediscover why this work matters! Producer: Matthew Dun...

Some pretty shocking statistics surfaced recently from an enquiry by the UK’s Treasury Committee looking into access to finance. Obtaining data from eight UK banks - the committee found that more than 140,000 accounts held by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were forcibly closed in the past year.  Following hot on the heels of the Nigel Farage Coutts drama – as well as the count...

The Wirecard scandal has become the subject of legend in the financial industry. The German payments company, formerly worth tens of billions of euros, collapsed following the exposure of massive accounting fraud and financial misconduct. The fall of Wirecard sent shockwaves across the financial industry as well as right to the very top of politics, but none of it would have been possible without...

Sweden is the global poster-child of the journey to completely digital transactions – with the number of Swedes using cash falling from 39% in 2010 to just 9% in 2020.   But; does a cashless society offer only benefits, or do we need to consider the financial crime risks this creates – as well as those it stops? In the latest episode of The Laundry – our expert host, Fredrik Ri...

You may have seen the Netflix documentaries, TikTok sagas, or long-read articles about charming con artists using elaborate stories to extract life savings from their victims – using affection to mask their true aims. But this isn’t just the subject of true crime stories; this is real life and it’s happening right now. The UK’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau has revealed they received more tha...

We are witnessing the birth of a new criminal class complicating life for authorities, AML professionals, and law enforcement. In today’s episode, our expert host Fredrik Riiser presents the rise of state-backed gangsters. Miles Johnson is investigative reporter for the Financial Times and he recently joined us live on-stage in Shoreditch to deliver a fascinating keynote on this timely subject. Th...

Elon Musk, owner of ‘X’ (or Twitter), has announced plans to turn the social media platform into an app that is the centre of ‘someone’s entire financial life”.  But while Musk may be one of the original founders of PayPal, there is a lot which needs to be worked out from a compliance perspective when turning a social media site into a financial tool capable of replacing the banking system.&n...

(Episode in Norwegian) I denne spesielle bonus-episoden tar vi for oss en nyhetssak som har dominert flere norske medier den siste tiden – nemlig utfordringene i samarbeidet mellom Økokrim og bankene i kampen mot hvitvasking. Mangelen på ressurser, teknologiske utfordringer, og en følelse av frustrasjon fra både myndighetene og bankene. I denne episoden av The Laundry – får Marit besøk av Terje Al...

Roses are red, violets are blue. Sanctions are working – or is that statement untrue? With global tensions rising; sanctions have moved from the subjects of industry reports to the topic of presidents, prime ministers, and leaders across the world. In the latest episode of The Laundry – our expert host, Marit Rødevand , is joined on-stage in London by Chloe Cina , Partner in Morrison Foerster’s Na...

Every political election is pitched as the biggest and most significant – but in 2024, more than half the world's population (that’s four billion people) will asked to go out and vote.  But alongside the political promises and photo opportunities – elections across this year are set to be impacted by dark money and shady influence through back channels. In the latest episode of The Laund...

Money Laundering Reporting Officers are a vital component of financial services - a crucial link between companies, the risks they face, and the authorities. But recently, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority sent a warning to hundreds of companies who had burned through three or more MLROs in just three years! So, what does this tell us about the pressures and expectation on this role? In th...

Ask yourself: What are the first three words that come to your mind when you think of insurance? Security? protection? safety? I doubt many would think: money laundering, global terrorism, or criminal conspiracy. But the insurance industry, built on trust, has a troubling issue with dark money being washed through it.  In the latest episode of The Laundry – our expert host, Fredrik Riise...

The start of a new year often means money is flowing and big plans for the new year are being put into place.  Statistics from LexisNexis suggest £34.2 billion is spent each year on financial crime compliance by financial services in the UK. So how do you make sure that all spending is going in all the right places?  In the latest episode of The Laundry – our expert host, Marit Røde...