The Laundry

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...

In Phillip K. Dick’s classic sci-fi novel Minority Report, by the year 2054, future crimes are predicted and solved before they happen using psychic abilities. We’re not there (yet) – but we can call on specialists and experts to draw on their own experiences and look at what will be coming in financial crime and the fight against it in 2024.    In the first episode of 2024 –&n...

The podcast connecting AML, compliance and financial crime to the real world is back with 12 fresh episodes – with your hosts Marit Rodevand and Fredrik Riiser. We lift the lid on the unassuming, uncover the corruption underneath, and champion those working hard to fight it.  Forget corporate webinars and boring white papers - we’re reminding you why this work really matters! ...

(Episode in Norwegian) Velkommen til en innsiktsfull bonus-episode tatt opp live fra DNB sitt Banksjefseminar. I denne episoden samler vi noen av de fremste ekspertene innen finanssektoren for en grundig analyse av AML og hvordan teknologi kan brukes for å møte dagens og fremtidens utfordringer. I paneldiskusjonen har vi æren av å presentere topp eksperter på feltet. Du vil få unike perspektiver o...

It’s our final episode of the season and it’s time for some reflection at the end of the 2023! While financial crime continues to make big headlines all over the globe - we’ve gone into the archives and pulled out the stories which will still be important in 2024 and beyond.  In this week's episode – our expert host, Marit Rødevand, is joined by Jessica Cath , Head of Financial Crime at...

November 30th marked exactly a year since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Since then we’ve seen: a record 1 million users in just five days, now more than 180 million active users across the globe, and their first product has already become a verb!  This is a faster explosion than anything we’ve seen since the dot com boom and – despite boardroom fallouts and high profile firings and re-...

Following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia became the most-sanctioned country in the world – with more than 14,000 sanctions currently in place.  Despite this, the intricate and undisclosed relationships between the Russian nationals and European businesses remain intact and active. This is best demonstrated by the story we’re focussing on today: a French businessman allegedly put...

Due Diligence, Enhanced Due Diligence, Ongoing Due Diligence, Know Your Customer, and Know Your Business – if you’re reading this then you’re more than likely familiar with these terms. But just because these concepts are well-known – it doesn’t mean they aren't constantly evolving in the dynamic world of compliance! These due diligence basics have huge consequences from everything from compa...

You receive a call. Your account has been compromised – you need to move all your funds to a different secure account.  The person on the other end is from "your bank" and ready to "help you out" - if you just give them all your banking information.  We’ve all seen this situation play out – whether to ourselves, family members, or friends. The scam call is a universal problem - with...

If you’ve picked up a British newspaper, switched on the TV, logged on to social media, or attended a political party conference – there is one word you will have come across again and again….  De-Banked!  British politicians and media figures are in uproar about bank accounts being shut down or applications being rejected - reportedly due to political connections and beliefs. The term ‘...